A Foundation of Roses
by CelticX
Summary: Follow-on to Rosa Chinensis. It's Yumi's first year in college. Her leukemia is in remission, her relationship with Sachi couldn't be better, and life looks wonderful. But Hiromi and Sachiko have a few ideas of their own for our dear Yumi-chan.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Well, it has certainly taken long enough, and I'm still not exactly happy with it. I would greatly appreciate your feedback so please R&R.

I do not own MSGM or any of its characters. All such honors belong to Oyuki Konno.

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**A Foundation of Roses**

Hiromi was walking down one of the almost one hundred year old hallways of Hanadera University towards his Macro-Economics class when he felt a vibration at his waist. He pulled his cell phone from the holder on his belt and glanced at the caller id. It was not a number he was familiar with. He was tempted to let it go to voicemail but a sudden foreboding had him pressing the Talk button.

"This is Takeda Hiromi," he answered cautiously.

"Hiromi-kun, it's Sadako Inoue," he heard a familiar female voice answer tensely.

"Inoue-sensei," he smiled in relief as he greeted the gregarious school nurse from Lillian, "what can I do for you today?"

"H-Hiromi-kun," he heard her stammer and gasp, trying hard not to cry and causing worry lines to etch his brow, "it's . . . it's your godmother . . ."

-oo-

The funeral was held the following Sunday afternoon at St. Lucy Yi Zhenmei Catholic Church. Father Yamada presided for the small group that gathered in the tiny church to say their final farewells to the woman that had done so much for them and for all of Lillian. Eri-chan, Kaori's administrative assistant, spent most of her time trying to console an inconsolable Seiko Kasuga, trying to keep her from collapsing entirely as she clutched a rosary to her breast. It was heartbreaking to watch since the two women had only found each other once again three years earlier after having been apart since their own high school days, each thinking that the other had already died from their attempted dual lover's suicide. To have miraculously found each other only to be separated once again after so little time . . .

Hiromi, his mother Chiyoko, his grandmother Kimiko, and his fiancée, Tsutako Takeshima, had greeted the mourners at the door to the church. The service was as simple as the old teacher could ever have wanted, with Sachiko playing _Maria's Heart_ on the old organ as Yumi sang the Academy Director's favorite song. Shimako had sung Gounod's _Ave Maria_ and then the two had sung a duet of _Amazing Grace_. Father Yamada had intoned the funeral reading: Chapter 2 of the Song of Solomon.

_I am a flower of Sharon_

_A lily of the valley._

_As a lily among thorns_

_So is my beloved among women . . ._

Hiromi had provided the eulogy; extolling the virtues of his godmother, her love for Seiko-sama, and for her family, but mostly her love and dedication for her school and the students placed under her care.

She was interred at the very back of the small graveyard behind the church, right up against the stone wall that separated the church from the school so that she could be as close to her beloved Lillian as possible.

"Sachiko-san, Yumi-san, could I please speak with you for a few moments," Hiromi asked quietly as the two prepared to leave after the service. "Father Yamada has offered us the use of the Sacristy."

"Of course, Hiromi-kun," Yumi replied gently for the both of them, squeezing Sachiko's hand gently while wiping a tear from her eye.

The three bade their final farewells to the guests before making their way back to the vestry where the good father was just finishing up taking off his robes.

"Take as much time as you need, Hiromi-kun," he smiled as he shook the young man's hand.

"Thank you, Father," Hiromi smiled before pulling the cleric into a tight hug. "She loved you, you know," he told the still handsome priest.

"And I loved her as well," Father Yamada replied with a sniff. "She was a good woman."

Hiromi just nodded as the man opened the door to leave, allowing Tsutako, Chiyoko and her mother to enter as well.

"Please, everyone take a seat," Hiromi told them all as he waved the ladies towards a pew that had been set up for everyone's comfort. The slender, beautiful young man with dyed black hair and amethyst eyes bowed his head a moment before looking up at the grouping of the most important women in his life. He coughed before he started to speak. "It was my godmother's desire that her will be read here, in the church that she loved so much . . . almost as much as the chapel at Lillian," he told them with a sad smile before reaching into the breast pocket of his suit coat.

There were very few tears, each of the women having known for a while now that Kaori-sensei was ill. They had all had an opportunity to say their goodbyes over the past few months as the Academy Director faded quickly. The school's board had not yet named a replacement, but there were rumors that a former Rose was up for the job.

"Seiko-sensei has already received her bequest, so it only remains for me to explain the rest," he told the gathered women. "My godmother never lived the high life. She had her small vices, but for the most part she lived very simply. The end result of that, and of the inheritance that she received from her parents many years ago, is a rather hefty sum of money and a single piece of property." He opened the document he had taken from his pocket and began to read:

"_To my dearest friends and family, Sachiko and Hiromi, I leave the remainder of my estate, including all financial assets, life insurance and pension proceeds. Additionally, I leave them the only real property that I ever owned, even though it came so late in life. I leave these assets in your care, to be used as you see fit and for the benefit of everyone, in your roles as the founding members of The Rose Foundation. Of all of your grand achievements, I believe that it is this Foundation that has been your greatest so far. Please take care of yourselves and those you love, for they are most precious to me as well as to you."_

Hiromi refolded the document and handed it over to Sachiko so that she could read it as well as a new set of tears welled up in those expressive blue eyes. Yumi leaned over so that she could see the document, but only briefly before she turned to Hiromi in slight confusion.

"Hiromi-kun, what does this mean?" she asked softly.

"It means that our little scholarship foundation has just received an injection of funds amounting to several hundred million yen, Yumi-san," he smiled at her.

"S-several h-h-hundred . . ." the former Rosa Chinensis stammered in shock.

"Along with a lovely piece of property that, although it is relatively small, due to its location and improvements it is currently worth about another hundred million yen or so in today's market," he explained.

Yumi just gaped at him, mouth open but making no sound, unable to believe what he was saying.

"Would you like to see it?" he asked with a real grin, the first she had seen on his face since he had received the news of Kaori-sensei's death. "It's not far from here. We can easily walk there in just a few minutes."

"Let's see it," Sachiko said with a determined nod as she refolded the will and handed it back to him, wiping the remaining tears from her eyes. She looked up at the young man that was like a brother to her after knowing him for just over two years, a man she warmly called frère, and smiled. "I somehow get the feeling that this is something that Kaori-sensei would have wanted."

"That she did," the only male to have (unofficially) graduated from Lillian Girls' Academy grinned as he held out his hand to help her to her feet.

The three said their goodbye's to Tsutako-san, Hiromi pulling her into a brief, tight hug and kissing her on the cheek before she drove Hiromi's mother and grandmother home. He told her that he would join them later, but it would probably be sometime after dinner. They all walked to the front of the church and out through the double, dark oak doors and into the early afternoon sunlight. As his fiancée and family turned left to head towards the parked car, he, Yumi and Sachiko turned right down the sidewalk, heading towards the main gates to Lillian Girls' Academy only a few blocks away.

They spoke softly and warmly of the woman they had all loved so dearly and had just finished burying as they walked slowly towards the school that she had loved and where they had spent such wonderful years. When Hiromi stopped in front of the gates, Yumi looked up at him.

"She owns something on the school grounds?" she asked in confusion as they stood looking through the tall gates at the manicured lawns and cobbled paths that they all knew so well.

"Not on the school grounds," Hiromi grinned and then put his arms around their shoulders and turned them around, "just across the street."

"Th-that's . . ." Yumi squeaked as her hands flew to her mouth.

Across the street from the main gates to Lillian Girls' Academy was a small, white, wooden sided, two-story house sitting on a narrow plot of land.

"That's the Rose Mansion!" Sachiko gasped as Hiromi chuckled at the girls' reactions.

"My godmother had this built over the past six months," Hiromi explained. "She knew she didn't have much time left and it was to be her donation to The Rose Foundation, but she died just after it was completed so she couldn't donate it to us herself. Would you like to go inside?"

The two girls just nodded silently, still too surprised to speak. They walked over the pedestrian bridge and approached the wooden front door. Hiromi pulled out a set of keys, unlocked the door, and pushed it open.

The two-story foyer was relatively small, but still large enough to hold the small reception desk that sat as a guardian to all inside. They could see a lounge in a room to their right while a room to the left had been set up as a small office. Through an open doorway next to that they could see a small kitchen. Directly ahead of them was a narrow staircase that went up to a small landing before turning right and leading to a balcony overlooking the foyer. At the top of the landing was a beautiful stained glass window depicting three roses: one red, one white, and one yellow.

"I'm sorry to say that the stairs do not squeak," Hiromi chuckled as the two former roses stared in awe at what looked to be an exact replica of the Rose Mansion that sat on the grounds of Lillian. "The builders refused to loosen up some screws in the steps." He led them slowly up the stairs and onto the balcony overlooking the foyer. A door at the very end led to a bathroom with a shower while a biscuit door was centered in the wall to their left. He turned the knob and slowly pushed the door open to reveal a meeting room with a long, rectangular table in the center covered by a sparkling white tablecloth. A small kitchenette with a sink and under-counter refrigerator was off to the right where you could make tea. The cabinets did have one new addition; a microwave with a built in vent hood over a two-burner stove.

"I-it's the exact same," Sachiko gaped in awe, "right down to the sheer curtains and drapes!"

"It was to be her final gift to us. I'm sorry that she didn't get the chance to see your expressions when you first saw it," he chuckled. "She would have loved them."

He walked over to the cabinets of the kitchenette and opened a drawer, pulling out a large white box and then handing it to Sachiko. She stared at him a moment before looking at the box in her trembling hands. She slowly opened the lid to reveal a brass plaque intricately engraved around the border with a vine of roses surrounding the words "The Rose Foundation" in Kanji, Katakana, and English. As the two girls stared wide-eyed at the plaque Hiromi filled a tea kettle with water and put it on to heat. It wasn't long before he set two steaming cups of tea in front of Sachiko's and Yumi's normal chairs at the table and somehow got the two shocked ladies to sit.

"Sachiko, Yumi," he said with a smile as he toasted them with his own teacup, "welcome home."

-oo-

The Ogasawara attorney's filed all of the necessary paperwork to transfer the property into the foundation's name and get it set up properly on the tax rolls. The money, in the form of a single cashier's check with way too many digits, was given to Shimako's father to be deposited into the Foundation's operating accounts. The Takeda's attorney filed the necessary paperwork to finalize Kaori-sensei's estate and, by the end of the week, The Rose Foundation was much more than Hiromi or Sachiko had ever imagined it would be.

"You know what we need to do," Hiromi told the raven haired beauty one evening as they met in the meeting room of the foundation's new headquarters. Sachiko's hair had grown out to about the same length as Youko-sama's but was in more of a layered cut that he thought suited her very nicely.

"I don't have the time, and neither do you," Sachiko replied with a sigh. "We each have our own companies to run. If you remember, Father transferred full control of one of our small design firms to me last year when Yumi was so ill. I have a great director running the day-to-day operations, but I still need to meet with her on at least a weekly basis." Sachiko scowled. "Father even had the audacity to ask if I would be willing to move back home so that we could work together in the evenings."

"You're joking, surely," Hiromi laughed. "I don't see Yumi allowing that!"

Sachiko giggled. "I had to keep her from storming over there and giving him a piece of her mind. The evenings are the only time we really have together since we have completely different class schedules, and we spend most of that time doing our homework."

"I know. I'm not able to see Tsutako anywhere near as much as I want to even though our schools are literally next door to each other. And I have to meet with my store managers weekly as well.

"Even before we think about someone to run the foundation, we need to decide what our mission is going to be," Hiromi continued. "The Lillian art scholarships are fine, and I have some more ideas with regards to both Lillian and Hanadera, but with the assets we now have at our disposal we can do so much more."

"I know," Sachiko sighed. "I'm emotional about the issue, and that is not a good basis for a business decision, but I want to do something for women and children with leukemia and other forms of cancer."

"Well, you're not the only one thinking along those lines," he replied with a grin as he stood up and moved towards the tiny kitchenette to brew themselves another pot of tea. "I agree that it's an emotional issue for everyone close to Yumi, but that doesn't mean it's a bad idea. We just have to come up with some ideas that are within our means. Awarding just one or two decent research grants could exhaust all of the new funds that my godmother willed to us."

"I wonder if she knew how much of a pain in the ass she was being to us," Sachiko grinned.

"Sachiko-sama!" Hiromi laughed. "Such language! Surely you didn't learn to speak like that at Lillian!"

Sachiko laughed out loud, her high sweet laughter filling the warmly lit room as Hiromi returned to the table and placed a fresh cup in front of his partner. "It seems that Sei-sama has been having a detrimental effect on my onee-sama, and she in turn has been passing her bad habits on to me," the blue eyed girl giggled.

"How are they doing," Hiromi asked as he reclaimed his seat; concern for his own grande soeurs evident in his face. "I know they couldn't be at the funeral for some reason."

"They're fine," Sachiko smiled wistfully. "They were spending some quality time together at an onsen for the weekend. They both had time to say their goodbyes to Kaori-sensei a few weeks ago so there was no real need for them to attend the funeral service. They get so little time to be together that they take every opportunity."

"I'm glad that they are taking time for themselves," Hiromi sighed. "They need it, being away from each other so much during the school year."

"However nice it is to talk about friends, it's not getting us any closer to an answer to our basic question," Sachiko said, bringing them back on topic.

"True," Hiromi gave her a smile which quickly turned into a wicked smirk, "but it has reminded me of the perfect candidate."

"Oh God!" Sachiko gasped. "You wouldn't dare!"

-oo-

"Eeehh?" Yumi squeaked in shock. "C-could you p-please repeat that onee-sama?"

It was actually Hiromi, after a couple of moments of chuckling, who repeated the request that Sachiko had put before her petite-soeur and lover. "We would like you to take over responsibility for the management of The Rose Foundation," he said clearly so that Yumi would understand that he was serious, and so that Sachiko could finish with her own bout of giggling at Yumi's initial reaction.

The three university students were currently sitting at a table at Mama Cho's drinking jasmine tea and nibbling on sweet egg tarts; the snack that had become a staple for the members, both current and former, of the Yamayurikai. No one remembered who had originally found the little hole-in-the-wall family-run dim sum restaurant located just outside the gates to Lillian Girls' Academy although a number of people tried to claim that distinction. All they knew was that it had become a habit to meet at least once every other week to share tea, tarts, and talk.

Hiromi had invited Yumi and Sachiko to today's out-of-schedule meeting to discuss the future of the charitable foundation that he and Sachiko had founded almost two years earlier to award art scholarships to deserving students wishing to enter or stay at Lillian. With the new funds now available to it Sachiko and Yumi had spent many evenings talking about what the foundation could possibly do in addition to those two now relatively meager scholarships.

Yumi pounded her head just above her ears, first the left and then the right, hoping to dislodge whatever it was that seemed to be making her hear things that she knew just _could not be_. When nothing came flying out of her ears she gave up and figured that she must have actually heard what Hiromi and Sachiko had told her.

"You've got to be kidding. Right? I mean, I'm only a first-year at Lillian U, and an architecture major at that! What would I know about running a charitable foundation?"

"Yumi," Sachiko said as she calmed down from her giggles, "it really is not that different from the running of the Yamayurikai. What is the role of the Yamayurikai at Lillian?" she asked her petite soeur.

"Um, well," Yumi reluctantly answered her onee-sama, "to do what is necessary to ensure that the students are provided with an academic and social atmosphere that is conducive to a well-rounded learning experience."

"Yes, Yumi, that is the _official_ role of the Yamayurikai, but what was our real role?" Sachiko asked her with a smile.

"Well, I guess if I had to boil it down to its roots, it was to take care of all of the students and help them learn what it is to be responsible people," Yumi replied after a little thought.

"That's right, Yumi. 'To take care of all of the students.' That means helping all of the school clubs, making ourselves available to the students that had needs, and being role models that they could all look up to and aspire to. And who out of all of the students at Lillian could be considered the perfect role model? Hmm?" she quipped with a grin.

"Onee-sama, if you bring up that damned award again . . . I swear I never did anything to deserve it!" she exclaimed, "I was just . . ."

"Being a role model, putting the student's needs ahead of your own, listening to and caring for each and every one of them, being kind, patient, and accepting of everyone around you, and doing whatever it took to get the job done, even during a time period when you yourself were so ill that you could have died at any moment," Sachiko said with a gentle, soft smile as she laid her hand along Yumi's cheek, just as Yumi so loved for her to do. Yumi leaned into that warm, loving embrace, relishing the feeling of comfort that it gave her. "Frankly I can think of no one better suited to the job. I promise that, at least at the start, the job will not be a full-time endeavor. You will still have time to go to your classes and enjoy your own university experience."

"And you already have a group of volunteers to call upon if you ever need anything," Hiromi explained. "Here at Lillian, you have Sachiko and Sei-sama. At Hanadera, just on the other side of the hill, you have myself, Yuuki-kun, Suguru-kun, Masamune-kun, and Alice-san. At Todai you have Youko-sama, Rei-sama, and Yoshino-san. And, of course, at Lillian Girls' Academy you have Touko-chan, Noriko-san, Nana-chan, Sakura-sama, and Yukiko-chan. Even Eri-chan has offered her services."

"You also have Shimako-san, along with the support of not one but two different temples. Even Father Yamada over at St. Lucy's has offered his services along with the church itself if we ever need it," Sachiko finished.

"Still, Sachiko, it's such a big job," Yumi said as she shook her head, "I mean, we are not just talking about a few art scholarships now. We have no idea what we can do and where we can go with this. There are so many possibilities. Similar and additional scholarships for students at both Lillian and Hanadera; subsidized dorms for deserving students at both schools; counseling services; medical services . . . and that doesn't even start to tackle the bigger issues."

Hiromi smirked at Sachiko who had the good grace to nod and acknowledge his win for the original idea of appointing Yumi to the post. Her wonderful petite soeur had just enumerated four additional services that the foundation could provide to the students and the community with the funding that they currently had and she hadn't even been trying.

"We don't expect to go global overnight, Yumi," Hiromi chuckled. "Until we have both the staff and funds we are just going to stay small and do what we can. In fact, I'd be happy if we always remained small and simply served the local community. Now, what did you mean about the subsidized dorms?"

"Oh, well, um," Yumi gave a shy smile, "After Sachi and I started talking about it, I started looking around the neighborhood on my way to and from school. I noticed that the apartment complex next to the foundation's new headquarters is up for sale. It's in pretty good condition and it's close to both schools. We could put a foundation member or one of the school's teachers in one of the apartments as a dorm mother or something to keep an eye on the students. If we offer the position to one of the school's Sisters we might even be able to get some funding from the church to offset the expenses."

"And the counseling and medical services?" Hiromi pushed her.

"Ah, um, I was speaking to my doctor, Watanabe-sensei, at my last checkup and he mentioned that he had a friend from medical school that was tired of the hustle and bustle of a large city hospital and was looking for a smaller, more relaxed atmosphere. I mentioned Touko-chan's family hospital out in the mountains and he thought it would be a wonderful choice for his friend. But he also said that the man wanted to do a little pro bono work in a free or low cost community clinic somewhere. Watanabe-sensei said that he would be interested in something like that as well and that got me to thinking about the foundation. Isn't there a closed storefront on the other side of RMII?"

"RMII?" Hiromi and Sachiko both asked with quizzical looks.

"Oh, sorry," Yumi pinked, "I've been thinking of the foundation's new headquarters as kind of a Rose Mansion II . . . RMII . . . see?"

Hiromi grinned and shrugged while Sachiko giggled at her partner's wit. "Alright, if you were going to assign those two projects to someone, who would you give them to," Hiromi asked the petite, brown eyed girl.

"Um, well, the clinic I would assign to Yuuki and Touko-chan for obvious reasons," Yumi thought aloud, "and the dorm project I would probably assign to Shimako and Noriko with Suguru-kun to support them; that's _after_ getting Masamune-kun to set up a proper accounting system for us." Yumi decided.

"And you still do not think you are the best person for the job, Yumi?" Sachiko asked as she reached her hand across to take Yumi's in her own and give it a squeeze. "You just decided on four needed projects, identified the facilities and the volunteers, and assigned the responsibilities to those best suited to get the jobs done successfully."

Yumi ran her free hand through her still short brown hair in embarrassment at how she had been going on. She knew how important the foundation was to both of them and she didn't want to be the one to take it down the wrong path. It was so much responsibility and she had her own schoolwork to do. But looking into her lover's eyes, and into the eyes of a man she loved so dearly, she didn't have the heart to turn them down. She put her head down on the table and sighed.

"I'm going to need all the help I can get," she murmured, frightened at the role she was taking on, "and that means the two of you," she said as she raised her head once again and looked at her two soeurs, "but I'll do it. But I want Alice-san as my secretary!" she demanded.

"He's already agreed," Hiromi grinned. "In fact," he said as he looked at his watch, "I believe that he and Masamune-kun are over at 'RMII' right now setting up the computer network and installing the accounting software."

"You . . . you . . . you knew that I'd agree you cross-dressing manipulator!" Yumi exclaimed loudly, causing a few heads to turn towards them with smiles.

"You leave my Hiromi-san alone, Yumi-sama," Mama Cho yelled through the pass-through from the kitchen. "He looks better in a dress than you do! Oh, all that beautiful hair," she wailed.

"Yes, Mama," Yumi yelled back with a grin as the rest of the small restaurant's patrons laughed.

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Thanks for reading and, again, please drop me a line and let me know what you think. I need all the encouragement I can get ^_^

Take care,

CX


	2. Chapter 2

The three left Mama Cho's and headed towards the newly christened RMII where they met with Alice-san and Masamune-kun. The two had just finished installing all of the hardware and software for a new computer system with both cabled and wireless networks. They had not purchased the latest and greatest equipment, but what they had bought was more than sufficient to run the small charity. Hiromi handed Masamune a slip of paper on which was written all of the information necessary to establish connections to their bank and accounts. Masamune's eyes lit up as if he had just been presented with the best of all possible Christmas presents.

"Please finish setting up the financial connections, Masamune-kun," Hiromi grinned at the other boy's joy, "and be sure to add Yumi-san to the list of authorized signatures for the accounts. By the way, how does it feel to be the accounting manager of a professional organization for the first time?"

"Huh, what?" Kobayashi-kun replied, called back out of his daze, "oh, that. No problem," he grinned, "this should be a snap. As we go on I'll need to set up electronic payments for our suppliers, but for now all I'll really need to worry about is the taxes and deposits. The headquarters property is fully paid for so we don't have to worry about mortgage or lease payments. You gave me the account information for the utilities earlier, so setting up on-line payments for those should be no trouble at all once I've established connectivity to the bank. I'll also set up digital certificates for e-signatures, both corporate and personal, for everyone including Yumi-sama," he replied with a grin for the new boss. "We will need to sit down and develop the account structure, and we'll have to determine the cost elements and bases for project overheads and G&A . . ."

"Can you understand anything of what he's talking about," Sachiko asked Yumi in a whisper, shaking her head at all of the jargon as Masamune-kun continued to tick off the things still needing to be done.

"Actually, yes, onee-sama," Yumi giggled softly in reply. "I've been helping my mom with both the home and business banking and accounting for the last few years. Dad may be a fantastic architect, but he's lousy when it comes to numbers and accounts. Haven't you had to deal with it with all your family's businesses?"

"That's what I have accountant's for, Yumi," Sachiko sniffed but was inwardly both surprised and proud of her petite soeur. Even after all their time together she was still finding out new things about her partner.

"Onee-sama," Yumi murmured as she took Sachiko's hand in her own and started to pull her towards the stairs and the meeting room above as Masamune-kun continued his listing of things to be done. Sachiko smiled at her and followed her petite soeur, not sure what Yumi wanted but always willing to follow wherever she led.

Yumi opened the biscuit door to the meeting room and pulled Sachiko inside before closing it again and taking her in her strong arms. Part of Yumi's physical therapy to regain her strength and stamina after her leukemia had gone into remission was a series of exercises and weightlifting to strengthen both her bones and her muscles. Yumi had taken to the PT like a fish to water, thoroughly enjoying the exercises and pushing herself on the weights. She had gained both muscle mass as well as strength, but she would always be somewhat petite and girlish, just as Sachiko liked her.

"Mmm," Sachiko smiled as she broke from Yumi's soft kiss, "first one in the new home," she grinned.

"And many more thereafter," Yumi giggled as she tightened her hold and rested her head against Sachiko's breast. "Am I really going to be able to do this, Sachi?" she whispered, the hesitation and fear evident in her voice.

"You will do much better than I ever could, Yumi," Sachiko replied with a gentle smile as she kissed the top of her lover's head. She ran a hand through Yumi's still short hair, reveling in the feel of its softness and silkiness. It wasn't frizzing as much as it had been before it all fell out as a result of Yumi's chemo and radiation treatments, but she still looked forward to the day that her brown haired love could once again put her hair up in the pigtails she had when they had first met.

"You probably know more about the actual nuts and bolts of business than I do and you have the ideas and the dreams that you want to accomplish. Not only that, you have the drive to get them done no matter what obstacles stand in your way. I have full faith and confidence in you, Yumi," she said, this time kissing Yumi's forehead as she raised her petite soeur's face to her own, "I know that you can do this."

"Sachi," Yumi smiled as she closed her eyes and raised her chin, inviting Sachiko to kiss her again. Sachiko had never been able to refuse that invitation, nor had she ever wanted to. She lowered her lips to brush across those of her love, feeling their softness and taking extreme pleasure in the taste of her lover's lips. Yumi's hands played gently over her back, caressing her in the way she always did, until the room and the sounds from below faded away and all that was left was the feel of Yumi in her arms and of her lips. All thoughts of school, of the family business, and of the foundation disappeared as her mind found that hazy place that contained only Yumi and her love.

The two separated with extreme reluctance, holding each other close for a moment more before Yumi stepped back with a look of extreme satisfaction on her face. "I need some more tea," she smiled. "Can I make you a cup, onee-sama?"

"Please," Sachiko smiled back. She had noticed a small pile of paperwork laid out at the head of the table and she moved to take her regular seat, realizing that even the chairs were of the same design as those in the original Rose Mansion. Yumi had gone to the small kitchenette and begun preparation of a pot of Earl Grey, its distinctive orange aroma wafting to Sachiko's nose as she glanced over the paperwork in front of her. It was so nostalgic – her at the table with papers in front of her, Yumi at the cabinets preparing their tea – she was transported back to her days at Lillian and Yumi's first year at school. Even their love for each other still seemed so fresh and new. If only they could go back to those days.

But that would require having to relive all of those horrible, terrifying days of discovering and then treating Yumi's leukemia; no, she never wanted to go through that ever again. There had been so many days when she had felt that Yumi was going to leave her alone; so many nights that she had selfishly prayed to God and Maria-sama to please keep her lover safe and to deliver her from her disease. Those prayers had eventually been answered, and there were even wonderful memories from those times, but she would give it all up to ensure that Yumi stayed by her side for the rest of her natural life.

"Sachi?" Yumi asked softly as she set Sachiko's cup of tea in front of her.

"I was just reminiscing a bit Yumi," Sachiko smiled up her.

"It does bring back some wonderful memories, doesn't it onee-sama," Yumi grinned as she looked around the room, "I almost feel as if Yoshino and Shimako should be storming through the door, Yoshino upset about something Rei had done and Shimako doing her best to try to calm her down."

"But she blew off a date, Shimako-san . . . with ME!" a twin braided, brown haired girl screeched as she blew through the door followed a dark-blonde haired angel and a black haired girl that resembled nothing less than an ichimatsu doll.

"Rei-sama told you that she had a physiology exam tomorrow morning, Yoshino-san, and I still don't know why you had to come all this way just to complain," the angel was saying softly in contrast to the raised voice of the slender, waif-like but fearsomely angry girl. Noriko just rolled her eyes as Shimako tried desperately to calm Yoshino.

"But the author was only holding that one book signing here, so I'm not going out of my way, and . . . hey," Yoshino stopped suddenly as she finally took in her surroundings, "when did we get to the Rose Mansion? I don't remember entering the gates or praying at Maria-sama," she sputtered as she spun around, taking in the room, the windows and their sheer curtains, the table with its white tablecloth, and the kitchenette area with its freshly brewed pot of tea before she finally faced and recognized the two girls sitting at the head of the table. "Sachiko-sama? Yumi-san? What are we doing back at school?"

The pout on Yoshino's face as all four of the other girls broke out laughing at her was priceless.

"What brings you to RMII?" Yumi asked as she moved to pour three more cups of tea and begin brewing another pot.

"RMII?" Yoshino asked as she gazed once again around the room, still totally confused as to how she had gotten there.

"Look out the front window, Yoshino-san," Sachiko suggested as she giggled at the expression on her kohai's face.

Yoshino moved to the window and pulled open the sheers to gaze out at the traffic moving along the street in front of the Lillian gates. "Whaaa?" she screeched again as she stepped back, "isn't this the Rose Mansion, or have I been transported to some alternate universe?"

"It's an exact replica of the Rose Mansion," Noriko explained patiently to her overly dense friend. "I helped Kaori-sensei with all the measurements and decorations since I'm still in school and in the original Rose Mansion every day."

"Speaking of which," Yumi said with a smile, "are you skipping today, Noriko-chan? Golden Week is over and summer vacation is still more than a month away."

"Eri-chan gave me permission to miss my afternoon classes and Touko-chan agreed to loan me her notes," Noriko replied with a grin. "What about you?"

"I was shanghaied!" Yumi replied loudly with a glare at her onee-sama who only smiled sweetly at her, much to Noriko's delight. "So what is the occasion?" she asked the black haired girl in a more normal voice.

"I wanted to show the building off to Shimako and when Yoshino-san showed up in such a snit I couldn't very well miss her reaction to the new home of The Rose Foundation," Noriko replied with an evil grin.

"Eeehh?" Yoshino screeched again, eyes wide in shock as she fell into her usual chair at the table and Shimako placed a cup of tea in front of her.

"Oh, this is so much better than I could ever have hoped for," Noriko giggled.

"Yoshino-san, welcome to RMII," Yumi laughed, "the new headquarters of The Rose Foundation. Kaori-sensei had it built and then willed it to the foundation, along with several hundred million yen in cash and stocks."

Yoshino whistled as she looked around the room once more, still trying to come to grips with the fact that she wasn't sitting in the middle of the Lillian Girls' Academy high school campus.

"And Yumi has just accepted the position of Foundation Director," Sachiko announced with a grin as Yumi's ears pinked.

"Oh, that is wonderful, Yumi-san," Shimako exclaimed, clapping her hands together, "I cannot think of a better person."

"Congratulations, Sachiko-sama," Noriko smirked. "How did you talk her into it?"

"I simply asked politely, of course," Sachiko grinned mischeviously.

"Hah, in your dreams, onee-sama. It was more like blackmail, Noriko-chan," Yumi laughed, "She and Hiromi-san ganged up on me. I think they even brought Mama into the conspiracy."

"We did not," Hiromi declared as he entered the room and moved to pour himself a cup of tea. "Although I'm sure she would have been happy to help if we had asked her," he grinned. "We simply pointed out that Yumi had all of the necessary qualifications, and ideas, to take the foundation to the next level now that we have some real assets available to us."

"I still can't believe that you cut off all that beautiful strawberry blonde hair," Yoshino sighed as she stared at his short, black-dyed hair.

"I know of two young girls, one nine and the other twelve, that are very happy that I did," Hiromi smiled as he took a seat at the end of the table opposite Sachiko.

"Thank you, Hiromi-kun," Yumi offered with a smile, "I'm sure that they appreciate it. I know I do."

"So, what can I do to help?" Yoshino said, sitting up straight and giving a final, wistful glance at Hiromi's new haircut.

Sachiko passed a third of the stack of papers in front of her to Yoshino and another third to Shimako. "Read and give me your thoughts on each of these documents," she directed the younger women, "and I need them before you leave."

"Yes, ma'am," Yoshino grinned as she looked at everyone gathered around the table. "It's just like old times."

"Indeed," Shimako smiled her normal, serene smile as she took her usual seat and Noriko took a seat next to her.

Hiromi looked across the table, smiling as he quietly sipped his tea. Yumi was reading over Sachiko's shoulder and offering her comments quietly as Sachiko occasionally nodded. Yoshino was pouring over the documents in front of her, her pencil flying over the notepad next to her while Shimako and Noriko made their usual pairing of an extremely competent team. Alice-san and Masamune-kun were downstairs setting up the modem to their internet provider along with the wireless router and password system for the network. They planned on starting to build the foundation's intranet and email system over the weekend.

Sachiko glanced up from her work and gave him a smile. He saluted her in return with his teacup, toasting the birth of the new Rose Foundation.

-oo-

Yuuki entwined his fingers with those of his girlfriend, Touko, as they walked the cobbled paths of Lillian late that same afternoon. The sight of the two walking hand-in-hand across the campus of the all-girls Catholic school had become so normal that none of the other students gave them a second glance except to nod and say "good day" as they passed the two. Yuuki had scheduled his university classes so that they ended shortly before the end of the daily Yamayurikai meeting just so that he could walk Touko to the bus stop each afternoon. Although he no longer wore the dark grey uniform of Hanadera Boys' Academy he was still dressed very neatly in a pair of dark grey chinos and a white button down shirt beneath a navy blue blazer. Touko knew that he always dressed up solely for her sake and it only endeared the young man to her that much more.

The two had been officially dating for about a year and he was still surprising her with all of the little ways in which he showed her how much he loved her. A small smile graced her lips as she glanced up to look at the young man's face. Yes, he looked a lot like her onee-sama, Yumi, but she also noted the transformation that age was making in his features. He no longer looked as young and, as he had matured, his face had become more defined, more chiseled, more manly, and markedly more handsome as well. She knew that many of the young women that passed them, if she only turned around, would have admiration or, more frequently, jealousy in their eyes. She had to chuckle at the thought.

"Hmm?" Yuuki asked as he looked at her.

"It's nothing. Just a wayward thought," she replied, trying to hide her smirk. It had become so much harder to hide her true emotions when she was with him. Nor did she really want to. Yuuki had often told her how much he loved her, all of her, and that he wanted to see the true Touko, not the mask that she liked to present to the rest of the world. That mask had become much more difficult to wear recently. It was no longer as comfortable as it had been in the past. She was sure that one of these days it would simply cease to exist, and she was surprised to find that she was actually looking forward to that day.

As they approached the main gates Touko looked up to the second story of the small building across the street. She could just make out a light in the window.

"Oh, it looks like someone is at home," she smiled. "Do you want to go have a look?"

"Sure," Yuuki replied with a grin and a sparkle in his eyes. "I haven't been inside yet."

"Neither have I," Touko giggled. "It should be interesting. I wonder how closely it resembles the original."

"According to what Yumi told me, the two buildings are pretty much identical," Yuuki replied as the two made their way across the pedestrian bridge.

Yuuki and Touko stepped up onto the small porch with its overhang and knocked on the door. It was opened almost immediately by a smiling Alice-san.

"Welcome to the Rose Foundation, Yuuki-kun, Touko-san," the joyful and effeminate young man greeted them with a brilliant smile. "Come in, come in."

"Excuse us," Yuuki grinned as Alice stepped back to allow them to enter. They kicked off their shoes and looked around but there were no guest slippers yet so they moved into the foyer in their stocking feet.

"Oh my gosh!" Touko exclaimed as she took in the sight. "It really _is_ a duplicate of the Rose Mansion. Even the stained glass window is the same!"

Alice giggled at her reaction. "Everything down to the silverware and shower curtain, Touko-san. Everyone is upstairs in the meeting room if you wanted to go up."

Touko's head was spinning and she grasped Yuuki's arm for support as they made their way up the narrow stairs. If she hadn't known better she would have sworn that she was right back where she had started from not fifteen minutes earlier. She briefly stopped on the landing and allowed her fingers to trace the bright red rose in the stained glass window. "Onee-sama," she whispered to herself, a habit of prayer she had gotten into the previous year when Yumi had been so sick. She then kissed those same fingers and, with a tiny breath of air, blew her prayer to the waiting ears of Maria-sama.

Yuuki had seen her do this once or twice before. He had never said a word to her, but she knew he appreciated her sentiments and heartfelt wishes. She looked up to see him smiling at her. He stopped her on the next stair and leaned forward, brushing his lips to her own gently. "I love you," he whispered softly.

"I love you, too," she replied as she felt the blood rise in her cheeks.

"I always thought that the red roses produced the prettiest blushes," Hiromi said from the top of the stairs with a grin. "Welcome home Touko-chan, Yuuki-kun."

"We're back," Touko giggled. "I mean, literally, I feel as if I just got back to the Rose Mansion," she went on as they ascended the last bit of stairs. "It even feels like home."

"You don't know how happy that makes me," Hiromi smiled as he shook Yuuki's hand and placed a quick kiss on Touko's cheek, causing her to blush much more furiously.

"Ah, yes, definitely the prettiest," he laughed.

"I-is onee-sama here?" Touko giggled.

"She's in the meeting room with Sachiko-sama and a few others," he smiled, "let me show you."

Watching Touko's reaction to the meeting room was almost as fun as seeing Yumi's and Sachiko's. The first thing she had done upon entering the room was to rush to Yumi's side and give her a warm embrace and a kiss on the cheek which Yumi returned with gusto. Touko had then turned in place, wide eyed at the similarities of the RMII meeting room to that of its original. After she and Yuuki had been provided with refreshment, tea for Touko and a cold cola from the fridge for Yuuki, Hiromi resumed his seat. Touko took a chair next to her onee-sama while Yuuki explored the room.

"Hiromi, I was just looking at the tax documents and I'm confused," Sachiko said without looking up from the pages in front of her.

"About what," he grinned, hoping he knew what was coming next.

"It says 'primary and secondary improvements' here. I understand that RMII is the primary improvement, but what is the 'secondary' improvement?"

"Um, hasn't anybody ever bothered to look out the back window?" Yuuki asked as he stood at the window with the sheer curtain pulled back while Hiromi started laughing his head off.

"I was wondering how long it was going to take someone to notice," he cackled as everyone jumped from their seats and crowded around the small back window.

"Eeehhh!" Yumi exclaimed as she had been the first to join her brother.

"Would you like to see it?" Hiromi chuckled.

It was a foot race to see who would be first out the door, down the stairs, through the kitchen and out the back door.

By the time Hiromi joined everyone in the back there was much chatter and gaping. He reached into his pocket and pulled out two sets of keys, handing one set to Yumi and the other to Sachiko, the two girls staring at him open mouthed.

Situated in the 'backyard' of the foundation was another two-story building. It too was white with grey trim and a grey pagoda style tile roof the same as the new Rose Mansion, but it also sported two wide front balconies the same width as the building, one on each level, with a set of stairs running up the left side of the building to the second balcony.

"In case you were wondering, it's two, fully furnished one bedroom apartments with a combination living room and dining room that opens to the kitchen, a study, small laundry room, and bath. They are not overly wide given the narrowness of the lot, but they're pretty deep. Overall they're about 67 tatami* each. There is also a separate two-car garage with street access on the other side of the building. Kaori-sensei wanted you two to have the first floor unit while Tsutako and I will eventually take over the second floor unit when we get married," he explained with a grin as he watched their eyes light up.

Yumi was the first to break into a run to the front door to try her set of keys, but Sachiko wasn't too far behind her, her long skirt swinging much more than the elders at Lillian would ever have approved of.

"Eeeek!" Yumi squealed in delight as the door opened and she rushed inside.

"Is this really alright?" Yuuki quietly asked the dark haired boy, worried for his sister's health if she were not surrounded by family. He and Hiromi had stayed outside while all of the girls had streamed into the apartment to look around.

"Yumi already has plans to install Watanabe-sensei and another doctor friend of his in a community clinic next door a few days a week each so that it will be manned every day. Inoue-sensei is just across the street at Lillian, and Sachiko will be with her every day," he replied softly as he turned to the young man that was looking less and less like his sister every day. "I'll be moving into the upper unit this weekend, so I'll be around as well if they ever need me. I don't know if she could be any safer anywhere else _except_ at home, which has to be getting a bit crowded these days. At least that's what Kaori-sensei was thinking when she had these built."

The brown haired boy grinned as he heard his sister exclaiming excitedly about the kitchen. "It'll take a bit to convince mom and dad, but I'll do what I can."

Another shriek of joy exploded from the front door as Yumi found the large master bedroom with its queen-sized bed.

"Um, do you mind if I ask a question," Hiromi asked.

"Hmmm?"

"Does Yumi know how to cook?" He already knew that Sachiko didn't know her way around a kitchen.

Yuuki couldn't help but laugh. "Does not burning the salad count?"

Hiromi hung his head in defeat, "Looks like I get to go shopping this weekend. I always wondered why neither of them offered to cook when we went on vacation."

-o-

*Each apartment is about 1200 square feet or about 111.5 square meters. Figure about 30 feet (9.14m) wide and 44 feet (12.19m) deep. In other words HUGE for a one bedroom plus den apartment just about anywhere. Kaori only wanted the best for her family and friends ^_^

A/N: Thank you for reading. As always, your comments and reviews would be greatly appreciated. I'm truly interested in hearing what you think about this new, slice-of-life story.

Take care all.

CX


	3. Chapter 3

A party atmosphere prevailed as everyone from the Yamayurikai both past and present gathered to help Hiromi move into the upstairs apartment the following Sunday. Yukiko wore her traditional hakama and haori as she blessed the building while Shimako, in a similar outfit, assisted her in the role of a trainee miko. Sakura, in a separate moment but also with her daughter Shimako at her side, called on Inari to bless the land and the people in their mission to do good in the world.

A short hedge with a central archway separated the two apartments from RMII to give a sense of differentiation between work and home. A large koi pond, with a small channel that ran underneath the hedge and with a couple of benches on either side, took up a portion of both yards providing a focal point for peaceful, contemplative and soothing gardens of bushes, flowers and ornamental grasses.

Entering either one of the apartments, one walked into the living room area with a sofa, coffee table, end tables and two chairs. Then came the dining area and then the open kitchen with a center island and all of the necessary amenities and accoutrements. The large, open space looked like it had been designed specifically for entertaining. To the right was a wall containing four doors; the first led to a small study, the second to the bedroom, the third to the bathroom which could also be accessed from the bedroom, and the fourth leading to the small laundry. The furniture was of a modern design made of teak wood and durable fabrics that were comfortable as well as functional; perfect for a couple of hard working college students. The hardwood floors were of a cherry tinted bamboo that matched the furniture and the kitchen cabinets while maroon area rugs differentiated the living room from the dining room.

"How did they react to the apartments," Tsutako asked Hiromi with a giggle as they watched box after box being carried up the stairs and into the second-floor apartment where the two would be spending much of their time together despite the lack of a marriage certificate. Both families knew that the wedding was inevitable and had given them their blessings and trust, knowing that it was only a matter of time.

"About what you would expect once they realized they were here," he chuckled. "And they loved the furniture that you and my mother picked out," he said as he grabbed another box and headed up the stairs, Tsutako right behind him with the last of the lot.

"Has Yumi gotten permission to move in yet?" the pretty, bespectacled girl asked.

"Yes. When Yuuki and Sachiko explained everything they realized that there was actually going to be more medical personnel available to her here than there was at home. Although Miki-okaasan still cried at the thought of her baby bird leaving the nest," he grinned.

"I'm not surprised after what they had to go through last year," Tsutako sighed. "But it will be nice to have her and Sachiko-sama just downstairs."

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on her as well," the auburn haired Sakura said with a smile and a twinkle in her blue-grey eyes from where she sat in an Adirondack style chair on the veranda. "By the way, I like what you did with the gardens, Hiromi-kun; very feng shui. Inari is impressed as well."

"I-Inari," Tsutako squeaked.

"What, did you think he didn't exist?" the kodama laughed. "Can you really stand there and look at me and even ask that question?"

"I-I just never gave it a thought," Tsutako stammered. "I mean, I know you're Shimako-san's mother, and that you're a lot older than you seem, I mean _really_ old, but . . ."

"Please," Sakura said with a huff of indignation, "I'm only around two hundred or so ... I think ... anyway, I'm still a child in comparison to a lot of my friends. Speaking of which, have you two done 'it' yet?" she giggled as she stood up from the chair, watching the blushes bloom on both Hiromi's and Tsutako's faces.

"Whaaat?" Hiromi exclaimed quietly as Tsutako let out an embarrassed 'eep."N-no, not yet," he stuttered. "With both of our dreams still ahead of us we decided that we didn't want any 'accidents' that could get in our way."

"Oh, well, if that's all you're worried about," Sakura said and then suddenly grabbed him by the crotch. He gasped in shock as a sudden heat flared in his groin before it quickly subsided once more.

"Wh-what did you just do?" he exclaimed as Tsutako fumed at the girl taking such liberties with her boyfriend.

"Just a little practical surgery," she answered him, giving Tsutako a wink. "Your vasa deferentia has just been tied into lots of _tiiiiny_ little knots. Think of it as a 'magical vasectomy.' It won't affect your pleasure in the least; it's just that your little swimmers don't have anywhere to go until I undo it. When the two of you decide that you want children, just stop by the shrine and I'll reverse the procedure," she smiled.

"You're joking, right? You can do something like that?" Tsutako asked with a touch of awe in her voice.

"It's just a small magic," Sakura shrugged, "so it's perfectly within my capabilities."

"So-so we can now . . ." the dark haired photographer stammered as she glanced between Sakura and Hiromi.

"In perfect safety," Sakura grinned. "Enjoy," she said as she grabbed the box from Tsutako's hands and carried it into the apartment. "You can thank me later," she called out over her shoulder with a bright laugh.

"Um," Hiromi mumbled as he turned towards his fiancée with a shy smile.

"I'm spending the night!" Tsutako laughed as she grabbed the box from her flummoxed boyfriend and carried it through the door, leaving Hiromi blushing furiously but also with a large smile on his face.

-oo-

Sachiko and Yumi moved into their new, first floor apartment the last weekend in June as the previous weekend's moving party was repeated. In the meantime Masamune-kun and Kintarou-kun, otherwise known as Alice-san, finished the final tweaks in setting up the network and software. As of the following Monday morning, The Rose Foundation was finally up and running.

"How are the negotiations going on the two properties next door," Yumi asked of Suguru-kun later that same week as the two met at RMII.

"Very well," the dark haired bishounen grinned as he took a seat at the other end of the table from where Yumi sat; a cup of steaming coffee in his hand. "The owner of the store-front gave us a discount from his already below market price when he found out that we planned to put a medical clinic into the space. It turns out he lives in the community and had always wanted a medical facility closer than the nearest hospital which is over a half-hour away by bus. He also thinks that it will bring more business into the rest of the block. He owns half of the buildings in the area.

"As for the apartment complex next door, Shimako and Noriko are even better than I am when it comes to negotiations," he chuckled. "Those two had the owner eating out of their hands. The final price was significantly below market value since it had been on the market for over a year and some of the apartments need repair."

"Repairs? How badly?" Yumi asked with concern, wondering if the repair costs would take it out of their price range. Banks didn't often like to roll repair costs into a long-term mortgage.

"Not too bad, and not too expensive," Suguru replied with a grin, knowing exactly what Yumi was thinking. "I already have an estimate from one of the firms run by my family to repair and renovate the entire building and it's well within reason. My parents have even suggested that the repairs could be considered a charitable contribution which will help us more at tax time than the additional revenue would have."

"Now that I can understand and live with," Yumi giggled. "Please be sure to thank them for us. I'm already planning to hold a party later this summer to thank all of those that have been providing contributions to the foundation recently."

"I heard that you had some money coming in already, but I wasn't aware that it was that much," the black haired young man grinned.

Yumi took a sip of her tea before answering. "It's a relative trickle so far, a few hundred thousand, but I've heard rumors of more on the way or available should we need the funds. I just can't believe how everyone has seemed to embrace the foundation now that we have a larger vision."

Suguru refused to be the one to tell Yumi that it was more she herself that the contributors had embraced more so than the foundation. After all that she had been through and the fact that she was running this organization, and running it _well_, while still only a first-year university student; she truly was a wonder, he thought with a shake of his head and a quiet chuckle.

"Hmm, what's so funny?" Yumi asked him with a smile and a tilt to her head. Once you got past the arrogance, overbearing self-confidence and narcissism Yumi had realized that Suguru was actually a nice guy. He really did care for Sachiko and Touko-chan, in his own way, and would do just about anything for them. He also had a good head for business which didn't really surprise her since he had been raised almost from birth to take over the Ogasawara conglomerate. Now that he was no longer Sachiko's fiancé he had really taken charge of his own family's businesses along with his father, actually merging some into joint ventures with existing Ogasawara companies to the benefit of both mother corporations.

"Oh, it's nothing," Suguru chuckled again, "just thinking."

"Hmm, it must be contagious," Yumi giggled. "I really can't thank you enough for helping us out."

"It's my pleasure," he replied with a grin. "After all, the foundation is almost a family enterprise. More importantly," he asked more seriously, leaning forward and putting his hands on the table, "how are you doing? I really haven't had much of a chance to talk to you since graduation last year."

"Oh, I still have my good days and bad," Yumi smiled and waved her hand in the air as if to wave off his concerns, "but overall I feel better than I have in years. I still have to go in for blood tests every month, but the doctors are optimistic that I won't have a recurrence of the leukemia ever again. I take my medicine, and I even get something like a homeopathic treatment every now and again," she chuckled, thinking back to all the times that Sakura had hugged her, giving her a portion of her strength and a little cleansing of her blood each time.

"Nothing dangerous I hope," Suguru frowned. "You know how some of those treatments are worse than the disease."

"Oh, you don't have to worry, they aren't dangerous. In fact, their just like a warm hug," Yumi giggled.

"Just so that you take care of yourself," he sighed. "I know how much you mean to Sachan ... and to me as well. We'd all be devastated if something were to happen to you."

"Thank you, Suguru-kun," Yumi said as she stood and walked over to him, leaning down to hug him around his shoulders, "you mean a lot to Sachi and me as well. Now," she said as she stood up again, "if I remember you have a class in about twenty minutes, so you had better get going. I look forward to receiving the final documents on the two adjacent properties within the next week. Yuuki and Touko-chan have already lined up the medical equipment and supplies with the help of Touko-chan's grandfather; and Watanabe-sensei and his friend, Miura-sensei, are anxious to get started seeing patients."

"Then I had better get moving, hadn't I," Suguru grinned, standing and giving Yumi another quick hug before heading out the door, telling her to "take care" as he left.

Yumi poured herself another cup of tea and then sat down again with a sigh. She had dropped one of her afternoon classes to accommodate the needs of the foundation, but it was still somewhat tiring. She was still taking four morning classes that required a lot of studying and homework, but at least now she didn't have to spend as much time commuting to and from school and she had more time with Sachiko as well.

She smiled as she thought how everything was coming together nicely. She hoped to be able to open the apartment complex before the end of the fall term and the clinic before the end of summer. With the drain on the accounts that those two projects would entail, along with the additional education and sports scholarships they had instituted for both Lillian and Hanadera, the incoming contributions were more than welcome. She just had to determine a means by which to increase those contributions even more before she would really feel comfortable.

"Oh well, with both Maria-sama and Inari on our side, I'm sure that things will work out," she told herself before glancing at her watch. "Ouch, if I don't get going I'm going to be late for dinner."

Yumi quickly grabbed her things and headed out the door, making sure to lock the place up before she ran across the pedestrian bridge to the bus stop. Two minutes later the west bound bus pulled to the curb and she hopped on, paying her fare and grabbing a seat. A smile lit her features as she looked forward, not so much to the meal, but to seeing her dinner companion again.

It was Thursday and she had a regularly scheduled dinner date.

But not with Sachiko.

-oo-

An angelic laugh echoed through the night as Yukiko wandered among the old buildings of Igusa Hachimangu Shinto Shrine just outside of Musashino. A smile crept to her lips as she turned in the direction of the sound. The early evening air was pleasantly warm as she turned left at one of the many kodama statues that dotted the shrine's large grounds.

"Good evening, Tama-chan," she said with a grin as she petted a kitsune statue as she passed it. Shortly she came upon a koi pond almost hidden amongst a screening of bamboo. She stopped as another peal of laughter rang out. "Will you please stop teasing the fish, onee-sama," she giggled as the source of the laughter smiled up at her from where she sat on her heels, a long, feathered grass dripping water in her hand.

"I am not teasing the fish, Yukiko-sama," the angel giggled. "He likes it. He says that it tickles."

"I know that, onee-sama," Yukiko explained with a sigh, "but all the others say that he laughs too loudly. It hurts their ears."

"Oh, I didn't know that," Shimako exclaimed softly before turning back to the pond, "why didn't you tell me, you bad fish," she scolded the large speckled koi, only to be splashed with water when he flipped his tail. "Now that's just mean," she said as she shook droplets off of her sleeves.

It was just too much for the chief miko as she tried unsuccessfully to withhold her own laugher.

"Now _you're_ being mean," Shimako pouted beautifully before she too joined in the laughter.

"You're doing wonderfully, onee-sama," Yukiko grinned after their giggles had subsided. "The priests only have praise for both your dancing and your 'special' capabilities. They still don't know about your background, and I have no intention of telling them, but it only makes sense to me that you would be so far along. After all, you have already been working as a maiden at your family's temple since you were five years old."

"Thank you, Yukiko-sama," Shimako replied with a shy smile at the praise. "I know I haven't always been the most outgoing of trainees, but . . ."

"Oh, please onee-sama" Yukiko chuckled, "you're a thousand times better than the girls that take the job just for a little pocket money in the summer. No, everyone has been extremely pleased with both your progress as well as your work ethic. We'll be sad to see you go."

Shimako simply smiled and nodded. She couldn't say that she would also be sad to leave, because that would have been a lie, and she knew that Yukiko knew it as well. She only got to leave the temple once a week and she wasn't allowed any visitors until she completed her training; and she missed Noriko immensely. They only got to see each other on that one day per week that she had off and Noriko had classes at Lillian for most of the day and then a Yamayurikai meeting after that. They were lucky to be able to share a quiet dinner and a walk around the campus before it was time for Shimako to head back in order not to break her nine o'clock curfew. She kept telling herself that it was only a few weeks more before she "graduated" and could once again return to her family temple and begin work on her own shrine.

"I know it's been a pain, but I promise that you will appreciate it when it's all said and done," Yukiko grinned.

"Oh, I know that," Shimako smiled, "and I cannot wait to really get to work. It's just . . ."

"I know," Yukiko smiled knowingly, "I miss Masamune-kun every evening as well. I know we're not really dating yet, and that he still thinks of me more as a friend than a girlfriend, but I still harbor some small hopes," the young miko sighed.

"I think that you can harbor a bit more than just small hopes," Shimako giggled as she stood to stretch out her aching calves, "Masamune-kun would be an absolute fool not to see that, and I have been assured by Yuuki-kun in the past that Masamune is anything but a fool."

"From your lips to Kichijouten's ears," Yukiko sighed, "or Maria-sama's, or Cupid's or Venus' . . ."

Shimako giggled. "I thought you only prayed to Inari."

"I'll pray to any god or goddess that promises to open that young man's heart to me," Yukiko laughed.

"You gave him hand-made chocolates at Valentine's, right?" At the younger girl's embarrassed and blushing nod, she asked, "Did you get anything from him for White Day?"

Instead of answering, Yukiko grinned and opened the top of her haori to display a necklace from which dangled a hand crafted silver pendant of a sitting, three tailed kitsune.

"Oh, my, that's beautiful, Yukiko-sama. I don't think you have anything to worry about," she smiled, "I'd say that Masamune-kun is already falling under your spell."

"I hope so," Yukiko said with a shy grin as she pulled her haori back together. "Well, I guess we should be getting to bed. Tomorrow's another long day," she said as she stood and wiped her hands on her hakama.

"I guess," Shimako agreed, opening the top of a small stone lantern where they hid the koi food and threw out three handfuls to make sure that everyone got a proper meal. "Let's head back. I have an unopened box of cookies if I can entice you."

"I think I can be talked into it," Yukiko chuckled. "Come on, I'll make the tea."

-oo-

"I'm home," Yumi called out as she slipped her shoes off and put on her indoor slippers late that evening. She only made it to the dining room to put her book bag down on the table before Sachiko came out of the bedroom to greet her with a warm hug.

"Welcome home, Yumi," Sachiko said gently as she embraced the shorter girl, "would you like tea first, or maybe a bath, or maybe ... me?" she giggled. "I feel just like a housewife welcoming her husband home after a long day at the office."

"Hmm," Yumi mumbled into Sachiko's neck as she tightened her hold on her love, "somehow I don't see myself as the husband type," she chuckled, "but as for the offer, all three, in that order," she giggled before going up on tiptoe to give Sachiko a soft kiss. They stayed that way for a few moments, simply enjoying the freedom of being able to truly express their love for one another without having to worry about potential witnesses.

"Were you able to finish your homework before dinner, Yumi," Sachiko asked when they finally separated so that she could pour Yumi her cup of chamomile tea.

"Yes," Yumi sighed. "I finished it up at the office before I met with Suguru-kun."

"Good, then you can relax for the rest of the evening and get to bed early," Sachiko commented as she handed Yumi her tea and ushered her to a seat on the living room sofa. Yumi was always so fragile when she got home on Thursday evenings. The brown eyed girl was both happy and sad, able to laugh or cry at the drop of a pin or a careless word. "Can I fix you anything or do you just want to take your bath?"

"The tea is wonderful alone, Sachi," Yumi smiled up at her, "at least as long as you come with it," she finished as she patted the cushion beside her, inviting Sachiko to join her.

Sachiko gave her a grin, grabbed her own tea and sat down next to Yumi just before the younger girl leaned into her. Sachiko put her arm around Yumi's shoulders and pulled her closer, giving what small amount of comfort she could.

"How about you? Did you finish all your work," Yumi asked quietly, intertwining her fingers with Sachiko's where they dangled over her left shoulder.

"Of course," Sachiko chuckled, giving Yumi's hand a small squeeze, "I had it done before I left school; just like always."

"You make the rest of us look like slackers," Yumi giggled, snuggling closer. "Did you eat?"

"Yes, mother," Sachiko chuckled. "Hiromi and Tsutako invited me down for sukiyaki."

"Good. I was worried that you had just eaten a cup of instant ramen," Yumi smiled just before she gave a quiet shiver.

"How about we both take a bath and then go to bed," Sachiko offered with a small grin.

"Now that sounds like a plan," Yumi chuckled, clutching tightly to Sachiko's hand. "I'm not so sure that I wouldn't fall asleep and drown if you weren't there."

"Then how about I go start the water in the tub," the blue eyed girl smiled but made no move to get up.

"In a bit, Sachi," Yumi said quietly, tightening her grip on Sachiko's hand again, her fingers and hand trembling, "please."

"Of course, love," Sachiko said gently, placing a loving kiss on the top of Yumi's head, "whatever you want."

Yumi was quiet for a few minutes before she softly said, "I really love you, Sachiko."

"I know, Yumi. I know. I love you, too."

It was almost another hour before they finally got up to take their bath and go to bed.


	4. Chapter 4

The cooking lessons for Yumi and Sachiko began without any fanfare or specific decision on anyone's part. Hiromi had asked Sachiko if she could cut up some vegetables while he prepared the soup one evening. Seeing her take the knife in her hand as if she were going to cut a piece of steak he stopped what he was doing, showed her the proper way to slice vegetables, and then went back to his task. Every so often he watched her out of the corner of his eye to make sure she didn't cut herself. When she had finished to his satisfaction he gave her a nod and then showed her where the spices were kept and how and when to add everything into the pot.

It was hilarious to watch the smile on her face, and the shock on Yumi's, as Sachiko proudly told her girlfriend at dinnertime that she had helped make the soup.

The next night it was Yumi's turn.

By the end of two weeks the three were routinely making dinner together, often with Tsutako's assistance. It was on one such evening when Tsutako made her announcement.

"Oh by the way, I'll be out of town for the first week of the summer break. The magazine is sending me out to Shimoda for a photoshoot," she said happily.

"This is your first location shoot, isn't it?" Yumi asked, her eyes widening.

"Yup. Everything up until now has been studio work," she replied after swallowing a bit of rice. "I'm really looking forward to it. I still won't be the primary photographer, I'm still an apprentice after all, but the editors have been using more and more of my photos in each edition of the magazine. Last month they actually used more of my photos than the primary photographer's," she said with a wide grin. Both Sachiko and Yumi congratulated her.

"What kinds of locations are you going to use?" Sachiko asked as they came back to the topic.

"Oh, I'm not sure. They haven't told me yet, but I would assume something like the usual. The beach, an onsen, one or more of the local resorts or hotels, the Mikomotoshima Lighthouse, that kind of thing. I'm really happy that they scheduled it for summer break so that I don't have to miss any classes."

"You must be thrilled," Yumi smiled. "It's another step on your road towards being a real professional photographer."

"It is kind of a milestone," Tsutako grinned, "but it's essentially just another shoot."

"Don't be that way," Yumi chided her. "The sun, the sand, the hot springs, what's not to like? I'm sure you will have a wonderful time."

"Oh yeah," Tsutako laughed. "Up long before dawn to set up so that we can capture the proper lighting, then meetings before the next setup in the afternoon, late night discussions and photo reviews before, if I'm very lucky, bed sometime around midnight or one. I won't have time for fun. This is work!"

"But you enjoy your work, so it's all good, right?" Yumi grinned again.

"That's true," Tsutako smiled back at her. "It's everything I've ever wanted."

Sachiko looked over at Hiromi and noticed his smile. He seemed happy for his fiancée, but his eyes seemed pensive.

"So who's the model?" Yumi asked.

"There will be a few different models, but the main one will be Akemi Okabe."

"Ooo, even I've heard of him," Yumi smirked at her. "He's a real bishounen that all the girls at school are going gaga over. He plays the part of the villain in that primetime soap opera everyone seems to like so much. Are you sure you can trust Tsutako-san around him, Hiromi-kun?" she taunted, her eyes sparkling with devilment.

"It's not a question of trust," Hiromi replied with a soft smile as he turned to look adoringly at Tsutako. "I love her and she loves me...and I know that nothing and no one will ever be able to breach that love."

"You always know the right thing to say," Tsutako smiled at him, reaching over from her place at the table to take his hand in her own and place a tender kiss on his palm.

"I wish that were true," Hiromi quipped, "but nobody's perfect, especially me. But if it will make you feel any better, Yumi-chan, I will certainly miss her," he grinned as he returned the favor, kissing each of Tsutako's fingers.

"You could always come with me," Tsutako said softly.

"With the schedule you just laid out, when would we have a chance to see each other?" he smiled. "And I'd only be getting in your way and you know it. You will need to focus on your photography, not your lonely fiancé sitting all alone at the hotel pool, nothing to keep him occupied but the beach bimbos flocking around," he smirked.

"On second thought, maybe you should stay here and help with preparing for the Foundation party where Yumi-san and Sachiko-sama can keep an eye on you for me," Tsutako giggled.

"Maybe that _would_ be best," Hiromi chuckled, giving her hand a squeeze.

The dinner party broke up shortly thereafter and Hiromi walked his fiancée to the bus stop. By the time he returned to his apartment, Yumi and Sachiko had finished cleaning up from the meal and were putting away the dry pots and pans. Yumi excused herself and headed down to their apartment to finish up her homework while Sachiko loitered behind.

"Are you really sure about Tsutako-san and her shoot?" she asked as Hiromi poured himself another cup of tea. Sachiko shook her head when he offered to make her one as well.

"I'm sure that it has been her dream to be a professional photographer since she was a little girl," he replied with a wistful grin. They moved to the sofa and took a seat before he continued. "I knew going into this relationship that it would require long periods of separation as she pursued her dream. I knew that it would be hard, and that I would miss her terribly, but I also knew that I wanted her to have every opportunity to realize that dream."

"It never occurred to me that the life of a photographer might also mean extensive traveling," Sachiko said with a shake of her head, "although I probably should have guessed when she told me that her idol was Annie Leibovitz."

"Yes. What Annie did for the celebrities of the world, Tsutako wants to do for schoolgirls," he laughed. "I'm not sure where she picked up this fetish of hers for school aged girls in uniform, but if you ever get a chance to take a look at her portfolio I think over half of the photos are of Lillian and other school's female students."

"Maybe that's why she took such an interest in you in the first place," Sachiko grinned. "You looked so good in your uniform."

"Actually, I think it had more to do with me being _out_ of uniform that peaked her interest," Hiromi laughed quietly as his face turned bright pink. Thinking back, that eventful day at the Ogasawara estate and his seduction of Suguru-kun in order to get him to publically break off his engagement to Sachiko was probably the turning point in his and Tsutako's relationship even if they didn't confess to each other until much later. While the movie that Tsutako had taken of that event had been destroyed as part of his bargain with Suguru, neither he nor Tsutako had ever mentioned the incident to another soul.

"I think that we can save that discussion for another time," Sachiko chuckled, herself turning a rosier shade at the implication behind those softly spoken words.

"Yes, that might be for the best," Hiromi chuckled.

"Still, it will be hard on you to have Tsutako-san gone for a week so please feel free to depend on Yumi and myself to help you fill those days."

"Thank you Sachiko-san," he replied with a nod. "I expect that we _will_ be fairly busy with Yumi's party for the Foundation contributors. I know that she really wants to be able to thank them properly for their support."

"That's true," the former Rosa Chinensis smiled. "I never did apologize for doubting you about appointing Yumi to be the head of the Rose Foundation."

"Oh, I don't think you doubted her ability for a second, Sachiko-san," Hiromi grinned, "you just wanted to give her more time to recuperate from her illness."

"Maybe that was it," Sachiko sighed, leaning her head back against the top of the couch. "She looked so fragile for so long, and I was so worried about her that I didn't want to throw her to the wolves quite so quickly. I knew that she would be able to do the job, I just worried about her health."

"As you had every right to," he said gently as he took her hand in his own. She glanced over towards where he sat beside her as he gave her hand a squeeze, "but I think that she needed something like this to make her feel useful. I'm sure she could have been quite happy simply taking her courses at the university, but it wouldn't have been nearly as fulfilling as running the Foundation has been for her."

"She does have this need to be contributing to something, doesn't she," Sachiko smiled back at him, raising her head again. "She'd much rather be taking care of something or someone than to be taken care of herself."

"Have you ever thought back to how Yumi-chan was her first year at Lillian, Sachiko-san?" Hiromi asked. "About how insecure she was about herself? Yet look at her now. Even after everything she has been through she has much more confidence in herself and a much more positive attitude."

"I try not to dwell on the past too much," Sachiko replied with a sigh, "it brings back so many bad memories of how horribly I treated her at times. You know we nearly severed our relationship on a number of occasions back then. I think that it was only due to Yumi and her love for me that we stayed together."

"You both made mistakes," Hiromi said with a knowing nod, "but you learned from them and moved forward...together. She learned a lot from you and you learned a lot from her and grew to love each other along the way. I know that she attributes much of her recovery to your being with her through all of it."

"No, it was her own strength that saw her through those terrible days," Sachiko smiled. "I still marvel at all she accomplished as Rosa Chinensis even while she was so sick."

"But it was you that gave her that strength, Sachiko-san," he told the blue eyed girl as he squeezed her hand again. "Don't ever question how much you mean to her. She loves you more than anything or anyone."

"I know," Sachiko smiled softly, "and I love her just as much. I really don't know what I would do without her. She has become so much of my life and my world."

"Luckily, with her leukemia in remission you'll never have to find out," he grinned.

"And I am sure that you will never have to worry about Tsutako-san," the raven haired heiress smiled, giving his hand one last pat before she stood and headed towards the door. "She loves you too much to allow anything like work or bishounen super-idols to get in her way," she laughed.

"Yes," he grinned as he watched the tall girl leave, closing the door softly behind her, "I have total faith in her. It's the bishounen super-idols I worry about," he sighed. "Tsutako is just too cute."

-oo-

"Yumi, we have been invited to join my mother for dinner out at the estate Friday night," Sachiko mentioned to her lover one afternoon later that week. The two girls were sitting at the kitchen table, both doing their homework. Neither girl looked up from their books as they spoke. The rice for their dinner was steaming away nicely in its cooker while the vegetables and meat were in the refrigerator ready to be cooked as soon as they were ready.

When she had moved out of her house, Yumi's parents had tried to continue giving her an allowance to cover some of her expenses, but she had adamantly refused believing that she and Sachiko had to make it on their own. Sachiko's job as head of her own company provided most of the funds that they used on a daily basis for living, but Yumi had finally broken down and allowed the Foundation to pay her a modest salary, almost a token wage, for the hours she was putting in. While everyone else was still donating their time, most of them were putting in only a few hours each week. Yumi was putting in almost thirty hours per week handling the various tasks that were being placed before her even with her schoolwork and continuing physical therapy. She hated having to take money from the charitable organization, but everyone agreed that she more than deserved what little she allowed them to pay her.

"Are your father and grandfather going to be there as well?" Yumi asked with a touch of excitement. She never tired of visiting with Sayako-okaasama and the rest of the Ogasawara household. Ever since she had become Sachiko's petite soeur they had treated her as if she were one of their own daughters. After the two of them had announced their relationship and Yumi had gotten so sick, it was as if they could not do enough for her. Sayako had explained to her that it was because she made Sachiko so very happy that they had initially taken her within their hearts, but because of who she is and her own nature they had grown to love her more and more with each passing day.

"No, it's just going to be Okaa-san and ourselves this time," Sachiko explained. "Otou-san and Ojii-san are on a business trip to Okinawa all this week. Okaa-san had originally suggested Thursday but I told her that we were busy so she moved it to Friday."

Yumi took a moment before she replied. "Thank you, love," she said softly.

"It is no problem," Sachiko said just as softly. Under the table she slid her bare foot up Yumi's leg, gently caressing her girlfriend's calf. Yumi shivered and raised her eyes, a slight grin on her lips and a sparkle in her eye.

"Are you trying to seduce me young woman?" she chuckled. She knew better, but she decided to play along.

"Is it working?" Sachiko snickered.

"Unfortunately yes, despite my need to finish up this math homework," the brown haired girl smiled.

"Then why don't we finish our homework, eat a nice dinner, take a bath and then go to bed early," Sachiko suggested with a slight leer.

"That works for me," Yumi giggled. She then proceeded to try to finish her homework in record time.

Friday evening found them in Sachiko's car heading towards the outskirts of Musashino and the Ogasawara estate. They pulled in through the tall gates and up the tree lined drive to the main house. A maid met them at the front door and they walked hand-in-hand back to the dining room. They giggled about the latest email received from Yoshino and Rei and about the way that the two of them fought almost constantly but loved each other so much. They took their seats at the black lacquered table in the smaller, family dining room with its large picture window looking out over the expansive yard now clothed in the gathering dusk. The maid brought out their cups of tea and then left again to bring the salads and soup.

Then Sayako glided into the room, and she _wasn't_ wearing her traditional kimono!

She was wearing a neat business outfit of a long sleeved dark green blazer with a white blouse with pearl buttons. A long dark green skirt swirled around her ankles barely showing off the black low heels on her slender feet. Her brown hair was up in its usual bun, but she wore a small amount of makeup that accentuated her high cheekbones and her deep brown eyes. A pale pink lipstick with a covering of lip gloss made her lips shine. Those lips giggled at the gaping mouths of her two guests.

"O-Okaa-san?" Sachiko gasped. It was probably the first time she had seen her mother in such an outfit since before she had started kindergarten at Lillian. Sayako even wore her kimono at formal parties. The older woman twirled around to let them see the entire outfit.

"Well, Sachi, Yumi-chan? What do you think?" Sayako asked with laughter in her eyes.

"You look absolutely wonderful, Okaa-san," Yumi breathed as she took in the woman's stunning beauty. She had always been beautiful in her kimonos, but this was a new vision for Yumi and one that took her breath away.

"You look beautiful, Okaa-san," Sachiko said tentatively, wondering what this was all about. "I'm surprised, no, that's not right," she said thoughtfully, "I'm wondering what made you decide to change outfits all of a sudden?"

"You don't think it suits me, Sachi?" Sayako asked her with a slightly worried look in her eyes.

"I think it suits you very, _very_ well, okaa-san," Sachiko smiled, "but that doesn't answer my question," her daughter said, not letting her mother off the hook.

"Do you think that this suit makes me look the part of a school administrator?" Sayako asked, a look in her eyes that showed how much she really wanted them to say "yes."

"You look better than any of the teachers or school administrators I've ever seen," Yumi said with a smile as she rose from her chair and went to the older woman. She held out her hands and Sayako took them into her own two hands. "You look very nice. Very professional, and very knowledgeable. Like a woman that could easily handle anything anyone threw at her," she told her lover's mother.

"You really think so?" Sayako asked nervously.

"Okaa-san," Sachiko said with a confused smile on her face, coming from her chair to join them. "You do look very nice and professional, but what is this all about?"

Sayako looked down briefly and then raised her eyes to them. "Do you think that I look like the next Academy Director of Lillian Girls' Academy?" she asked softly. The silent, shocked stares she received from the two girls made her even more nervous. "I mean, I do have my Masters in Education Administration, and I did work for some time at Lillian before your father and I got married...I was also Rosa Chinensis while I was attending school there...and I think that I can handle this job..."

"Of course you can Okaa-san!" Yumi exclaimed delightedly, pulling the older woman into her arms after recovering from her surprise. "I'm thrilled for you! I can't think of anyone better to help to raise and educate the girls of Lillian."

"I agree Okaa-san," Sachiko grinned at her mother, placing a kiss on her cheek. "It may have been some time since you last worked, but no one else is better trained or better suited to taking over Kaori-sensei's position. I know how much you care about the school and the girls there and I believe that Kaori-sensei would approve."

"Thank you Sachi. It means a great deal to me that you would think so," Sayako smiled at her daughter. "Why don't we sit down and I can tell you all about it," she offered. "I believe that the maid would like us to begin before the soup gets cold."

"What did Otou-san say when you told him?" Sachiko asked as she took a small spoonful of her soup.

"Oh, he was all for it," Sayako told the girls. "He realizes that I don't have much to do during the days and that this was what I went to school for in the first place," she explained. "He has been very supportive."

"When do you start the job?" Yumi asked between bites of her salad.

"Just after the start of the summer break. That way I can be up and running by the time the students return for classes in August." She turned to look directly at her daughter's lover. "I was also hoping that you might be able to use my services at the Rose Foundation Yumi-chan. My years of charity work might come in handy. I've made at least a few contacts along the way," she chuckled.

"I could use all the help I can get okaa-san," Yumi sighed. "So far everything has been going all right, but with the term finals coming up I don't want either the Foundation _or_ my grades to suffer from neglect."

"Sachi has been telling me how hard you have been working Yumi-chan, and I can only admire you for your strength and fortitude. Please feel free to use me in any way you might see fit."

"Thank you very much okaa-san," Yumi smiled widely, "I'm sure your experience will be of great help, especially during my end-of-term exams. Actually," the young woman got quiet and put a finger to her chin in thought, "if you wouldn't mind, and if it wouldn't be too much of a burden to you, would you be willing to assist with the preparations for the party I want the Foundation to hold for its contributors? You are surely much more experienced in that sort of thing than I am."

"That's a wonderful idea Yumi," Sachiko said thoughtfully, "however, I recommend that you provide your thoughts to okaa-san of how you envision the party and then allow her to bring it to fruition. It is, after all, your party for the Foundation. You don't want it to have so much of my mother's stamp on it that it appears that it is she, and not you, that is thanking them."

"But..."

"No Yumi-chan, Sachi is right," Sayako agreed with a nod and the shrewd eyes of a veteran. "It is you that are the head of the Rose Foundation, not I. Many of your contributors have been to Ogasawara events and would easily recognize my particular signature on an event. This is _your_ party. I'm sure that you want to be able to say 'thank you' in your own way. I don't mind helping out and even giving some ideas, but I want to hear what your thoughts are first. That way I can try to make your vision come true."

"Okay, I guess I can understand that," the former Rosa Chinensis nodded her understanding, "then here is what I was thinking..."


	5. Chapter 5

The time until summer break seemed to fly swiftly past. Much too swiftly for Yumi's peace of mind, but having Sayako-okaasan to lean on and support the Foundation while she was studying and taking her final exams for the term made all the difference. She felt comfortable focusing on her studies knowing that the Foundation and her party were in good hands. That didn't mean she completely abandoned her post. She continued to put in at least fifteen to twenty hours a week at RMII making calls, reviewing proposals, signing documents, and working with both Alice-san and Masamune-kun.

When all was said and done and she finally had a few minutes to relax and look back at those weeks, the most surprising thing had been how easy her exams had seemed to be. She would normally have assumed that the instructors were going easy on the first-year students to try to acclimatize them to university life, but two of her four professors were known to use their first round of exams to weed out those students that were not truly interested in an architecture or mathematics degree. She knew that the previous year's class averages for those particular tests were barely passing. With Sachiko's and Hiromi's help in providing her with the time to study, even those two exams had seemed to be a breeze when all was said and done.

"No, you are just that intelligent, Yumi-san," Hiromi told her while rolling his eyes after Yumi had told him the story, "especially when it's something you care about and enjoy. We've been telling you for how many years? And you are just now realizing it? Oops, excuse me, you _still_ haven't realized it!" He shook his head in disbelief. "In your three years at Lillian, even with all that happened during your senior year, you went from an average student to one of the top students of your class. You even received early admittance to Lillian U! How can you still not believe that you are smart enough to do anything you set your mind to?"

"I'm...I've just never thought about myself in those terms," Yumi murmured as her cheeks flushed. "The main reason I did so well at Lillian was because I didn't want to embarrass onee-sama. I didn't want anyone to be able to say that she had picked a stupid girl to be her petite soeur."

"Whatever the reason was, you accomplished and even exceeded your goal," he smiled kindly at her. "Sachiko...no, _all_ of us are so very proud of you, Yumi."

Yumi blushed and even deeper shade of red and desperately attempted to change the topic to something she felt was a little safer for her ego. "Has Tsutako left for her photoshoot yet?"

Hiromi sighed, both at the blatant attempt to change the subject as well as a result of the new subject itself, but he allowed it knowing how much Yumi hated talking about herself. "Yes, she left at five this morning. She had to be down at the magazine's offices by six and she didn't want to take any chances of being late due to traffic or bus delays."

"You're going to miss her," Yumi stated with a teasing chuckle at the obviousness of Hiromi's disquiet.

"Of course I am," he sighed again, "but it's her work and her dream. I'm certainly not going to interfere with that. I'll just have to find something to do with myself while she's gone so I don't miss her so much."

"I think I can help with that," Yumi grinned, pushing a stack of papers towards where he was sitting at the table in the meeting room. Even with a fully furnished office on the first floor, the vast majority of the work of the Foundation was conducted around that one table. A computer had been set up on a small table in the front, left corner of the room so that people could check their email or access the documents that were maintained on the server, and a wireless printer had been put at the very back of the entry foyer to the right of the stairs so that everyone could access it, but the occupants of RMII felt more comfortable in their usual seats around the large table to do their work.

This morning it was just the two of them. While both of them had finished their exams the previous day, Sachiko had one last exam to finish up that Saturday morning before she would be freed for the summer break. They were expecting Noriko and Shimako to arrive later in the day after Shimako's formal "graduation" from her training as a Miko. To say the two girls were happy to finally be together again would be the same as saying that a fish was happy to be reintroduced to the water after being plucked out by the fisherman. Still, they were both dedicated to the success of the Foundation to which they belonged.

"Tsutako is going to be back before the party isn't she?" Yumi asked without looking up from the papers in front of her.

"Yes. They're scheduled to be back on Friday so she should be here for the party on Saturday. She asked me to tell you she's sorry not to be able to help out earlier in the week, but she's fully prepared to assist with the final push to get everything ready the day of the party."

"Her career is more important at this time," Yumi replied with a smile, glancing up at him through her lashes. "I understand that. She's been more than helpful so far and I expect more from her when she acts as the official photographer at the party. That's enough for now."

"Still, she'd like to do more, but her classes at Lillian are killing her she says. Who'd have thought that a budding photographer would have so much trouble in an art class," he chuckled.

"Yes, well, she's great behind a viewfinder, but it seems that her muse can't help her when it comes to ceramics," Yumi giggled.

"She'll kick ass when it comes to modern art forms though," he laughed loudly just as his cellphone started to buzz at his waist. "Takeda Hiromi," he answered.

"Hiromi we need your help," Tsutako begged him in a pleading voice over the phone.

"Tsutako, what's wrong?" he asked, sitting forward.

"One of the models got sick and can't make it and we can't get anyone from one of the other idol houses soon enough. I happened to be looking through my portfolio when the producer walked by. He saw some of your pictures and told me to get you up here immediately. If we can't find another model it's going to cost the magazine millions."

"W-wait, Tsutako. What do you mean he saw one of my photos? _Which ones_?"

"Um, well, you see . . ." she stammered.

"Tsutako," he sighed.

"I tried to tell him that you're a guy, but he just said that you were better looking than most of the models out there right now. He doesn't care that you're a guy, he just wanted you to get here as soon as possible. We've already lost the morning and probably the afternoon, but we have a nighttime shoot scheduled for this evening. Please Hiromi," she begged him. He could hear the tears in her eyes. He sighed, admitting defeat. There was absolutely nothing he wouldn't do for her and he knew it. If it meant having his picture spread across the country while wearing a dress, so be it.

"I'll have to call my mother to bring me the breasts and other things from the estate along with an outfit," he said quietly. He had to hold the phone away from his ear due to the loudness and high pitch of her squeal of delight.

"Thank you! Oh thank you Hiromi," Tsutako gleefully told her fiancé, "I promise I'll make it up to you. I'll have the producer send a car to the apartment to pick you up and bring train tickets with him. Someone will be there to pick you up at the station here in Shimoda."

"You'll not only make it up to me," he chuckled, "you'll make it worth my while. If you had a roommate before, tell them they'd better find a new place to sleep."

"And just how will I be making it worth your while, boyo?" she asked with a coquettish lilt to her voice.

"I don't know," he drawled in a low voice. "I've never made love on a beach at night," he chuckled deeply.

"Oooh, just the thought of all that sand in the wrong place," Tsutako snickered.

"Maybe I'll come up with a different idea," he laughed, "but if I don't get off the phone it will be tomorrow before I can get there."

"See you tonight, love," she murmured sweetly.

"Love you too sweetheart," he said quietly before hanging up. He turned to look at Yumi who seemed to be trying her best not to laugh out loud at him. "No comments from the peanut gallery," he pointed a finger at her.

The brown eyed girl placed a hand against her breast and gave him her most innocent look. "Moi?"

A car horn sounded outside. He got up to look out the front window to see his mother standing beside her car double parked on the street in front of the Foundation. She had a long, strawberry blonde wig in one hand and a very familiar box in the other which he knew for certain contained a very special pair of fake breasts.

"Oh, she is so going to get it when I get there," he fumed as Yumi could no longer constrain herself and broke out into a fit of loud braying laughter.

-oo-

The crowds standing on the platform of the Shimoda rail station seemed to part like the Red Sea as a tall, strikingly beautiful woman stepped off the Izukyu Rail train from Atami. She was dressed in a smart, knee length summer dress with a bright floral pattern that clung to her curves while the modest V-neck showed just enough cleavage to kick start more than a dozen men's fantasies. Her pure white strappy sandals showed off the pink polish of her toenails which, of course, matched the painted fingernails that were doing their best to keep her white, wide-brimmed hat firmly on her head on the windy platform.

The woman heard whispers of "an actress?" and "a model?" as she strolled sedately through the crowd. A slight, mischievous smile twitched the corners her pouty-pink lips. She wondered how they would feel if they found out that they were right on both counts.

Along with the fact that "she" was actually a "he."

The total trip from Tokyo, the first leg being on the Shinkansen from Tokyo station, had taken only a little more than two-and-a-half hours. Still it was plenty of time for Hiromi to put the finishing touches to his barely-there makeup and to properly paint his finger and toenails such that they matched the dress his mother had brought with her along with a matching set of pink lace panties and bra. Along with two suitcases worth of clothes, his mother had also brought his entire kit with her including the special liquid latex and custom body makeup that would allow him to blend the edges of his fake breasts into his chest such that there was absolutely no distinction between where his real chest ended and the breasts began.

Once through the gawking crowd he turned to look left and then right until he saw a young man in a chauffer's uniform holding a sign which read "Takeda." Hiromi approached the young man, noting the sweat forming on his forehead and the multiple up-and-down movements of his Adam's apple as he gulped repeatedly. He put on his best, friendliest smile as he gave the young man a brief nod.

"I'm Takeda Hiromi. May I assume that you are from the magazine?"

"Y-y-y-yes, Takeda-sama," the young man stammered, unable to take his eyes from the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life. He'd been with the fashion magazine, JElle, for just over a year and had driven most of the magazine's models around town during that time, but never had he driven anyone quite so compelling as the woman standing before him, waiting for him to answer her question. _Her question?_

"Aya, yes, yes, I'm from JElle, Takeda-sama," he said while bowing again and again and again until a perfectly manicured hand flashed under his face and a finger gently touched his chin, drawing him up to look into the deepest, most beautiful amethyst eyes he had ever seen. Those eyes, lucky for him, contained a touch of merriment as the pink lips twitched into an even greater smile.

"Just once is fine..." Hiromi grinned while waiting for the young man to fill in the gap.

"A-Aizawa. Aizawa Akiyuki, Takeda-sama!" the chauffer squeaked.

"Well then, Aizawa-kun, don't you think it might be best if we went straight to the hotel? I was given to understand that time was of the essence."

"Ah, yes Takeda-sama, but please, call me Akiyuki. Everyone does," he said as he made to grab Hiromi's roller suitcase.

"Then please, lead the way, Aki-kun," Hiromi chuckled and gave the dark haired boy a flirtatious wink. He had the distinct pleasure of seeing the young man blush a fiery crimson before he turned and rushed off, the suitcase bouncing behind him as he completely forgot his charge. "This might be fun after all," Hiromi giggled behind his hand as he strolled after the boy.

After remembering he was supposed to be driving this woman to the hotel, Aki-kun bounced back, apologizing and bowing multiple times again, before leading her to the waiting town car.

The entrance to the Shimoda Spring hotel was just as grand as he remembered it from one of the trips he and his family had taken while he was in elementary school. It was a Ryokan style hotel, offering both Japanese style rooms as well as western. He remembered that the hotel's restaurant also served either traditional Japanese fare or, if the guests preferred, a large variety of western dishes. The one thing he distinctly remembered was that each room had its own private outdoor bath while the hotel amenities offered both multiple indoor and outdoor shared baths.

That all paled in importance to the young woman with shoulder length brown hair, dark blue eyes and rimless glasses that was rushing across the wide lobby to literally jump into his arms and place a large smooch on his cheek, knocking his hat off in the process along with the sunglasses that had been perched atop.

"I've missed you," Tsutako whispered in his ear as she buried her face in his neck, causing him to laugh.

"It's been what, twelve hours since you left? How could you miss me in such a short time?" he chuckled.

"It's my first trip out of town and away from you since we started dating," she pouted. "Didn't you miss me at all?"

"From the moment you stepped into the cab this morning, love," he murmured into her ear. He could feel her lips widen into a smile on his neck.

"You always know the right thing to say, boyo," his girlfriend and fiancée giggled.

"It's just the truth Tsutako," he grinned. A quiet cough from further into the lobby caused him to raise his eyes and take in the sight of a good looking older man, probably in his mid-forties, smiling at them.

"Ah, youth," he chuckled.

Tsutako squawked and extricated herself from Hiromi's arms to turn around, blushing of course, to greet the man as he stood with his arms behind his back and a smile on his face.

"H-Hiromi, I'd like you to meet Aizawa Jirou-san," Tsutako introduced the man. "He's the photoshoot producer and one of the senior editors at JElle. It was Jirou-san that saw your pictures in my portfolio."

"It's a very great pleasure to meet you Aizawa-sama," Hiromi offered with a slight bow. "Thank you for taking such good care of my...of Tsutako-san," he finished.

"It's alright," Jirou laughed. "Tsutako-chan explained the situation to me. You've found yourself an absolutely wonderful girl there, Takeda-san. And the fact that you're here and willing to help us in our desperate time of need says a lot about the...person that she has chosen to be by her side. I really can't thank you enough for coming to our aid."

"What can I say," Hiromi grinned. "Even if it's a working vacation, I get to spend time with my fiancée in a beautiful beach setting. That by itself is worth the effort. And please call me Hiromi. If you don't mind my asking," he turned to look at the young man bringing his luggage in the lobby doors, "Aizawa?"

"He's my son, Takeda-san," the man chuckled as Aki-kun nearly tripped over the bag in his rush. "He's a good boy. I'm trying to teach him the ropes of the business from the ground up. The first lesson is to try to get him used to all the models and VIPs that we have wandering around the magazine offices so that he doesn't see them as more than human." Aki-kun finally sorted out the three bags he had been trying to juggle, Hiromi's roller along with two others that had been stored in the luggage compartment of the train for the trip, and then proceeded to trip over the one he had placed near his feet as he once again looked up to see Hiromi watching him. "He still has a way to go," Jirou grinned.

"He was very sweet and helpful to me, so please don't think badly of him," Hiromi smiled.

Tsutako, ever the helpful apprentice, walked over and took charge of the roller bag from Aki-kun, giving him a warm smile and a nod of thanks as the two of them joined Hiromi and Jirou. "Shall we take these up to our room Hiromi," she asked politely. "We have about an hour until everyone is supposed to meet for dinner in the restaurant and then we have a shoot scheduled for nine at the outdoor infinity pool. I'm sure you want to get settled and fix your...makeup," she grinned.

"That sounds wonderful," Hiromi sighed thankfully. "Although the trip wasn't overly long it was a bit draining. I wouldn't mind lying down for a few minutes to recuperate before dinner."

"Then we'll see you in about an hour," Jirou told them with a glance at his watch.

"I look forward to it, Aizawa-sama," Hiromi nodded just as Tsutako took hold of his hand to lead him away to their room. Aki-kun followed closely behind, trying hard not to trip again as he watched a certain someone's hips swishing enticingly.

-oo-

The last time Hiromi had posed for Tsutako's camera had been over two years ago and had been at the Ogasawara estate just outside of Musashino. Back then he had been cross-dressing as a Catholic schoolgirl at Lillian Girls' Academy. He had spent just under two years in that guise and it had been to Tsutako that he had first revealed himself to be a man instead of the girl that everyone thought he was. He had done a striptease seduction of Suguru-kun to blackmail him into calling off the arranged wedding between himself and Sachiko while Tsutako had hidden in another room and taken a video of the scene. That video was deleted immediately after Suguru-kun had made his public announcement, much to the chagrin of the girl that would eventually become Hiromi's fiancée.

Back then he hadn't felt comfortable enough with his prosthetic breasts to wear anything more revealing than a one-piece bathing suit and a few evening gowns. After two years of practice, even if it had been seven months since he had last donned them, he felt comfortable enough to pose in a skimpy bikini. He had originally been more worried about the new, special "panties" that he put on underneath the bikini bottoms, but found that they were just as comfortable as his old ones even if they were so much smaller and thong-like. Still, most of the shots so far had had him wearing a crocheted wrap tied low around his hips.

"Are you absolutely sure she's a man?" Jirou whispered to Tsutako as they were taking a short break so that she could switch memory cards in her digital camera. "I mean, she's...um, _he's_ more beautiful than the vast majority of our regular models. With his, I mean her, I mean, oh hell, with _her_ height, build and features she could easily become one of the top models in the country!"

Tsutako couldn't help but giggle at the man's confusion. "I promise you Jirou-san, I can one hundred percent vouch that he's _all man_. However," she laughed quietly, "I will admit to wondering what would happen if we both wore dresses to the wedding."

"You'd be the best looking couple in the history of Japan," he grinned at her.

The glasses-girl blushed under his praise, quickly finishing setting up her camera for the next series of shots.

The other photographer, a professional rather than a mere apprentice, asked the model if she could slip into the water for the final series. Hiromi untied the wrap from his waist and dropped it on a lounge chair to be quickly grabbed up by one of the female clothing assistants. He slipped off the high-heeled sandals he had been wearing and stepped into the warm water of the infinity pool and turned around, waiting for further instruction.

"Do you mind getting your hair wet?" the man behind the camera asked.

"I'd prefer not to if it's not really necessary," Hiromi replied with a smile. "It's already after midnight and it would take forever to dry. If you need me early tomorrow morning I think it would be better to leave it dry now. Otherwise I won't get more than a few hours of sleep and, as Tsutako-san will attest, I'm not necessarily at my best when I'm sleepy," he grinned. "Think of the worst PMSing woman you can think of and then double it," he chuckled.

Tsutako had to shove her fingers in her mouth and bite them to keep from cackling. Hiromi was in rare form tonight, playing his female persona to the hilt and seemingly enjoying it just as much.

The photographer grimaced at the analogy, having had to deal with a few of those women in the past himself. It had not been a fun time. "Then let's not worry about it tonight. Maybe some other time," he chuckled.

Each of the photographers took another seventy or so shots before Jirou-san called it a night.

"It's late folks. Too late to even do a photo analysis," he said with a glance at his watch. "Let's meet again tomorrow in the lobby at six. If we have a good day we can let Hiromi-san and Akemi-san have the night off while we meet to go over the photos. Thank you all for your hard work."

By the time Hiromi and Tsutako got to their room they were both yawning. Hiromi took off the wet bikini and hung it from a rack in the bathroom to dry. He decided to leave his breasts on so that he wouldn't have to worry about them in the morning and walked naked to the dresser to take out the long nightgown he intended to sleep in just in case someone came to the door. He also laid Tsutako's usual pajamas of a t-shirt and shorts on the bed. As the dark haired girl got out of her clothes he watched her lithe body. It's subtly sensuous movements, made unconsciously as she peeled out of her jeans and pulled her shirt over her head, set his heart to pounding such that he could hear the rushing of his blood in his ears like the waves of the ocean just outside their balcony doors.

Once again he marveled at how lucky he was to have a girl like Tsutako in his life. It still seemed a miracle to him that the woman he loved and couldn't get enough of loved him as well. Tsutako walked to the bathroom to grab a pair of towels for them to use after their bath, her graceful steps like those of a dancer or an athlete. The curve of her buttocks as they swayed from side to side hypnotized him just as they did most nights. She had turned the light off in the room so as not to be too much of an exhibitionist if there were anyone down on the beach looking up at the hotel, and when she came back out of the bathroom, its light shining behind her, it was as if an angel had descended from heaven to grace his presence with her holy light.

"Like what you see?" she smiled at him as she leaned sensually against the doorframe.

"Always," he smiled back. "You are so beautiful, Tsutako."

"Thank you kind sir," she grinned, a slight flush suffusing her cheeks that could even be seen in the moonlight shining in through the balcony doors, "but we only have about four hours before we need to be up and getting ready again. I'd skip the bath, but I feel so sweaty and gritty from the salt air that I just can't stand the thought of getting in bed before cleaning off."

"Then if my princess will allow this humble servant to assist her in her ablutions we should probably get some sleep. I'll hold off on collecting my modeling fees for now," he leered at her with an evil grin, "but I'm adding interest to the amounts due, and I warn you, my interest rates are exorbitant."

"So much for my humble servant," she laughed, walking across the floor to bend over and capture his lips for a brief but passionate kiss. "I look forward to paying off my debt," she growled.


	6. Chapter 6

"All right, tie it off," Shimako yelled to her father as she fastened the rope she held around the bole of a tree just beneath a thick branch so that the rope wouldn't slide up the trunk. Her father did the same while Noriko looked on from where she stood between the two.

"It's perfect Shimako. I can easily see the cave mouth, and with the sun rising over top of the hill it should be marvelous in the mornings," Noriko yelled over to her lover.

Shimako wiped the rough hemp from her hands, making sure not to get any splinters sticking in her palms, and walked over to where the dark haired girl was standing. Her father, dressed in his priestly robes while Shimako was wearing her hakama and haori even though the physical labor they were performing almost assured that their outfits would get filthy, joined her to view the fruits of their worshipful labor. Certain things needed to be accomplished while wearing the appropriate attire and in the proper frame of mind. One such was the hanging of the eight-hand wide oval mirror so that it was properly suspended between two tall, strong trees.

The beautiful Angel of Lillian, now with a dirt smudge across her forehead and a bit of tree sap on her nose, smiled at their achievement while her lover couldn't take her eyes off her dark golden locks. Noriko reached up and started picking the leaves and needles out of Shimako's hair while Shimako's father chuckled.

"It does look perfect, my daughter," he smiled at her. "We can string the magatama along the rope after we've had our lunch. There is no rush to this. It is more important to have a properly prayerful attitude in the construction of your shrine than to meet some arbitrary date."

"I know father," Shimako smiled at him before stepping forward and kneeling before the huge mirror. She clapped her hands together three times to gain the attention of the gods before murmuring her prayer.

"Amaterasu-ōmikami," she whispered into the wind, "your child beseeches you to bless her endeavors in bringing enlightenment and joy to the hearts of your followers. Though I am but a vessel of clay, I ask that you grant your wisdom and guidance to your daughter so that she may bring honor to your name." Out of the corner of her eye she saw a flash of white and a bushy tail as it disappeared behind a tree. "And if it is not too much trouble, can you please provide just the barest amount of common sense and humility to my mother," she said a little louder with a smarmy grin on her face.

"I heard that you wench," Sakura laughed at her as she stepped out from her place of hiding wearing a long white yukata with a design of running foxes.

"You were meant to hear it Mother," Shimako told her with a fierce look of long suffering. She could only keep it up so long though before her happiness at having her mother in her life overcame her desire to tease the older woman.

"Good day Sakura-sama," Noriko greeted the kodama with a smile and a nod of her head. "I was unaware that shapeshifting was one of your capabilities. Now I believe I understand where all the rumors regarding a white fox inhabiting the grounds of Lillian came from."

"Inari takes care of his children," Sakura grinned, "besides, it's faster than taking the bus. Good day priest," she grinned at Shimako's father.

"Good day Sakura," the priest replied with an equally warm smile. "Have you come to assist?"

"Of course. My first recommendation, however, is that we all properly fill our bellies. I've prepared lunch for all of us in the kitchen."

"Thank you Mother," Shimako smiled, pulling the shorter woman into a brief hug. "Did you make your usual rolled omelette? You know how much I love your omelettes."

"You'll just have to see, now won't you," Sakura replied with a wink, taking her daughter by the hand and starting to lead them all back through the trees towards the temple house.

"What kind of path were you considering through here Shimako," her father asked as they wended their way between the trees out to the manicured lawn.

"I was thinking of a combination of hardwood and pine bark nuggets along with cracked walnut shells so that each step would produce a nice, natural perfume," the dark blonde girl replied thoughtfully. "It won't last as long as stone, but I want to try to keep it as close to its woodsy nature as possible."

"Oh that should be lovely, my dear," Sakura exclaimed excitedly.

"I want to line the path with cedars as well. Their fragrance should add to the overall experience without clashing with anything else," the former Rosa Gigantea was explaining when she felt a pull that stopped her. She turned around to look but no one was behind her. A glimmer of light caught her eye and she glanced to see that the sun was perfectly reflecting from the mirror she and her father had just hung to shine directly into the opening of the small cave that she had played in when she was a child. It wasn't more than a few meters deep, but it now shone with a glory that she only remembered from her childhood.

"Um, the sun's not in the proper position to do that," Noriko commented weakly, shielding her eyes and glancing between the mirror and the sun that was currently above and _behind_ it.

"I'd say that your request has been granted, daughter," Sakura smiled softly. "Amaterasu must be pleased."

"I…I need to dance," Shimako's voice quavered. Without another word, and while her family and girlfriend looked on, Shimako danced a kagura to the gods for gracing her with their presence and their love.

Sakura sniffed back her tears of happiness.

"And she was going to be a nun?" she chuckled.

-oo-

"So how are things going at Lillian?" Shimako asked a half hour later as they all sat outside around a picnic table eating the bentos that Sakura had made for them.

"About as you would expect," Noriko replied as she fed a bite of rolled omelette to her girlfriend. "Nana-chan won the title for her year group at the regional tournament…"

"As expected of the National Champion," Sakura said with pride for her own girlfriend.

"We're taking a break for a couple of weeks before we get into the meetings to help Hanadera with their festival," Noriko continued with a smile for her fellow rose, even if Sakura was still only Rosa Chinensis en Bouton. "We'll then have to immediately start helping with the planning for the Sports Festival and then right after that comes the Lillian Festival."

"Where are the second-year's going this year on their overseas trip," the former white rose asked. "Is it going to be Italy again?"

"You don't think that a Catholic school would give up on an opportunity to send their students to the Vatican do you?" Sakura laughed. "I wish them all the best and hope they have fun."

"You're not going?" Noriko asked in surprise.

"I'm kind of partial to Japan," the kodama grinned. "Actually, I can't leave the country," she sighed. "My life and my tree are here. Unlike some of my cousins…or my daughter," she said with a pointed look, "I can't even leave Honshu, but at least I can go anywhere on the island."

"I could only go abroad because I'm a halfer," Shimako agreed with a nod and a smiling glance towards an eighteen year old cherry tree surrounded by a short rope fence. Even though it was well into summer it was still flowering and dropping its pink petals. "It was a very nice trip and I got to see Shizuka-san as well as hear her sing once again," she smiled at the memory.

"I heard that she might be coming back to Japan for a few months on an exchange trip with the Musashino Academy of Music," Noriko added with a slight grin, knowing how much her girlfriend liked the singer. "She might even help teach one of the advanced choir classes at Lillian while she's here."

"Oh, that's wonderful news!" Shimako danced in her seat. "I'd love to see her again. She didn't say anything about it in her last letter." Noriko took it all in stride. She knew that there was no romantic involvement between the two, simply a shared love of music and singing that, unfortunately with her frog encrusted singing voice, she could not share. Still… "How were they able to swing that?" Shimako asked.

"I heard that the new Academy Director supposedly has a few connections," Noriko offered, sliding her hand over to cover that of her girlfriend.

"Do they know who it's going to be yet?" Sakura asked, not really concerned except that it made for interesting gossip…that and the woman might have some say as to what happened to her tree in the future."

"Not officially," Shimako grinned, "but I heard that Yumi might know already. You're going to Yumi's party at the Foundation this Saturday, right?" Shimako asked.

"Of course," Noriko and Sakura exclaimed simultaneously. "I received my invitation weeks ago just like everyone else did and have already picked out the outfit I'm going to wear," Sakura continued with a mischievous grin.

"This is Yumi's party, Mother," Shimako chided. "Don't you dare do anything that would embarrass her!"

"Yes dear," Sakura smiled innocently, "I mean, of course not dear," she giggled.

Noriko and the priest just looked at each other, rolled their eyes, and shrugged.

-oo-

Sachiko thought that the caterer must not have been having a very good day as she watched the woman's face as she entered the front door to RMII and put on the guest indoor slippers that awaited her by the front door. Only a single pair sat there for her to put on and, of course, they fit perfectly. Yumi had met the woman only once and yet she had noticed her shoe size for the specific purpose of having an appropriate size awaiting her for when she came to view the area she would be setting up in. Just that little touch of caring and she could see the creases in the woman's forehead begin to relax.

Yumi walked the three of them upstairs and proceeded to fix a pot of chamomile tea with just a touch of honey for them to share as they discussed the last little details of the upcoming festivities. By the time they had finished the pot the wrinkles on the woman's brow had faded into obscurity and a small smile was beginning to peek through on her lips.

They walked down the steps, the woman commenting on the beauty of the stained glass window in her passing, and into the homey kitchen where Yumi pointed out the various appliances and the refrigerator that the woman's employees would have at their disposal. They then walked out the front door and over to the side of the building, following the path that her guests would be taking. Looking at the front of RMII, just to the left of the building was a narrow walkway of slate flagstones between the wooden sided mansion and the apartment complex that Suguru-kun's company was in the process of renovating. Shimako, Noriko, and Yumi had spent an afternoon planting flowers and ornamental grasses similar to those that surrounded the koi pond and then added in some sage and heather. The perfume as you walked down the narrow path between the buildings was enough by itself to bring a smile to your face.

As they were discussing table placement, Yumi took some fish food from inside one of the stone lanterns and then took a seat on a bench. The caterer sat next to her. Yumi handed the woman half of the food in her hand and the two of them fed the fish, laughing at their antics as they tried to scarf down more than their brethren. They sat for five or ten minutes, talking not only about the party, but about the Foundation, some of the things it had been able to accomplish and some of the plans Yumi had for the future. Seeing Yumi speak so animatedly and so passionately about her dreams brought a smile to Sachiko's lips just as it did for the caterer.

By the time the woman left it seemed to Sachiko that all the woman's troubles had been lifted along with her spirits. She may have arrived with a scowl on her face, but she left an extremely happy woman.

"What's with that smile, Sachi?" Yumi asked of her lover when she saw how Sachiko was looking at her. "Do I have something on my face?"

"No dear," the raven haired girl said with a shake of her head, but the smile, if anything, getting brighter at Yumi's complete puzzlement. "It's just that you never cease to amaze me."

"Eeeh?"

Sachiko bent over and stole a quick kiss from the brown eyed girl. "Don't ever change love," she murmured before heading back up the stairs.

"What was that all about?" Yumi wondered.

Alice, who had watched the whole thing from her desk in the reception area, just grinned.

-oo-

"I heard Akemi-kun could be a real prima donna," Tsutako sighed as she took the last bite of her eggs, "but I didn't expect that he wouldn't even join everyone for breakfast."

"You worked with him yesterday while you were waiting for me to arrive didn't you?" Hiromi asked as he sipped his tea, concerned with the slight wrinkle that had appeared on Tsutako's brow as they finished their meal and the male model was still a no-show.

"Yes and he was a complete professional then, but I heard he came storming back to his room after the shoot when one of the assistants didn't have the exact brand of coffee he wanted waiting for him when he finished up. He had the poor girl in tears swearing that he'd see to it she never worked again." The dark haired girl in rimless glasses glanced up to see Hiromi's knuckles turn white with the pressure he was placing on his teacup. She reached over and gently took it from his grasp, prying his fingers loose before the cup shattered. "Don't worry Hiromi, she's fine now. Jirou-san assured her that she hadn't done anything wrong and that he wouldn't let anything Akemi-kun said come back to haunt her."

"Still," the young man seethed, "to threaten a girl like that when all she was doing was trying to make him happy…there's no call for that kind of attitude."

"Selfishness seems to be part and parcel of being an idol these days. There are some really nice people out there that I've worked with, but many can only think of themselves and their own needs or desires," Tsutako sighed. "I think that's one of the reasons I'm so partial to schoolgirls in my photography. I can still somehow capture that innocence, that purity of youth, and hold it in a timeless moment before it becomes tarnished by age and growing up in such a harsh and cruel world.

"Do you know why 'Discipline' is still my favorite photo?" she asked of him. "It's because of the absolute purity of the young Yumi. She had somewhat grown out of those days when she lacked any form of self-esteem and she was on the bare cusp of growing into the wonderful woman she is today. One of the reasons I admire her so much is because even after everything she's been through, after life did its worst to her and she survived it all, she's still been able to hold onto that same innocence and purity that she had that day. She still sees the best in people. She still acts as that mirror that shows you everything there is about yourself and she accepts all of it. Everyone she touches seems to want to be the absolute best that they can be just so that they can see themselves in her eyes and not flinch at the image reflected back at them. When I have to deal with people like Akemi-kun, I sometimes wonder what they would see if they looked in her eyes."

"Now you're not just a photographer, but a poet and philosopher as well," Hiromi smiled at her and squeezed her hand.

"Hardly," she laughed in the deep chuckle he loved so much. "I just call 'em like I see 'em."

"Well, you certainly see them better than most, love."

Akemi Okabe finally showed up in the lobby at six-fifteen after having eaten a leisurely breakfast in his room. He was a tall young man in his early twenties, about 1cm taller than Hiromi and just as slender although Akemi had a more masculine build where Hiromi's build was still effeminate to androgynous. The morning's shoot was scheduled to be casual summer wear on the beach. A section of the hotel's private beach near a tall, rocky escarpment and a grouping of large fallen boulders had been closed off to the rest of the guests to accommodate the magazine's needs.

The assistants and technicians had done everything they could earlier in the morning so that, even with the fifteen minute delay caused by their star, everyone could begin work immediately and very little of the early morning light was wasted. There were over a dozen changes of outfits using the hotel, the beach, the ocean, the boulders, and the escarpment as backdrops for the photography.

"Hiromi-san is a natural at this," Jirou commented to Tsutako at one break while she was switching cameras and the models were changing outfits. "Has he, I mean _she_ ever considered modeling as a career?"

Tsutako laughed quietly. "_She_ has his own company and stores to run, Jirou-san. Haven't you heard of The Takeda Company or the store Takeda Fashion?"

"Y-you mean he's THAT Takeda-san?" Jirou gasped. "Of course I've heard of them. They're so far ahead of everyone else in the business when it comes to knowing what women will want that it seems like everyone tries to spy on them to see what they'll be carrying for the next season. Even their suppliers are sworn to secrecy regarding their orders! I had no idea he was that Hiromi Takeda!"

"Well," she grinned up at him, "now you know, but you have to keep it a secret," she admonished him with a waggle of her finger under his nose. "No one's supposed to know who she is, although I'm sure that there will be hundreds of Lillian graduates that will recognize her when she appears in the magazine."

"Why do I think I don't want to know anything about that," Jirou sighed as she laughed at him. "You know it's not nice to laugh at your boss, Tsutako-chan."

"I'm sorry, Jirou-san," she giggled, "it's just that you aren't the first person to be fooled. There's a reason why Takeda Fashion is so far ahead of all the other companies. It's because the president of the company always keeps in mind the needs of the customers above anything else. For example, I don't think you'll find a single one of the outfits that we've been shooting in their stores. They're too different, unique, and unsuitable to everyday wear that most women would need for casual clothes. About the only article of clothing that you might find in her stores would be the white capri pants she just finished with. Everything else is too haute couture."

"Then why are we shooting these?" he asked the young woman, curious for her answer.

"Because the designer is a friend of the chief editor of JElle and is paying us a hefty sum to run a spread on them," she replied with a sneaky and knowing grin.

"You learn fast Tsutako-chan, you know that?" Jirou chuckled.

"Of course. I'm a Lillian maiden," she said with a smirk and a slight curtsey as if that answered everything.

"WHY CAN'T YOU GET IT RIGHT FOR ONCE! I SAID OOLONG, NOT EARL GREY, YOU TWIT!"

"Uh oh, sounds like Akemi's on the rampage again," Jirou sighed. "If you'll excuse me?"

"Of course Jirou-san," Tsutako told the older gentleman with a roll of her eyes.

"GET OUT OF MY SIGHT YOU WORTHLESS BITCH!"

_**SLAP**_

"Oh shit," Tsutako gasped as she jumped to her feet and started running as fast as she could towards the tent that had been set up for Akemi-kun.

She didn't get there before Hiromi did.

When she turned the corner of the large tent it was to find Akemi backed up against one of the tables the assistants were using to hold drinks and snacks, leaning…no, being pushed over top of the table with his shirt firmly in the grasp of one very pissed off cross-dresser and not a cm between their two faces.

"I'm not normally a violent person," Hiromi was saying in a very soft but very intimidating voice, "but if you touch one single hair on this or any girl's head again, I swear I'll be picking your teeth from the skin of my fist."

"Not the face Hiromi!" Tsutako screamed at her boyfriend.

"I wouldn't dirty my hands with this piece of slime," he hissed before loosing his hold and stepping back, allowing Akemi to fall to the top of the table, upsetting drink and snack trays which doused the male model liberally with their contents.

"I…I don't need to take this from some no-name dyke!" Akemi screeched in a high voice before jumping up and running for the hotel.

"Good riddance to bad rubbish," Hiromi spat.

"I'll go calm him down," Jirou sighed before stepping forward to place a gentle hand on Hiromi's shoulder, "but I truly wish I could have been in your shoes. I'd have punched the scumbag in the nose, shoot or no shoot. Why don't you and Tsutako-san go get ready for the next setup."

"Sorry about that Aizawa-sama," the strawberry blonde sighed and wiped an arm across his brow. "I let my temper get the best of me. It almost never happens, but I just can't stand seeing a man, or anyone for that matter, bully a young girl that's just trying to do her best to help."

"I understand son," the older man whispered. "It's a reflex for those of us that were brought up to properly respect a lady. I'll take care of this. Go with Tsutako-san."

"Yes Aizawa-sama," Hiromi sighed again.

"Tsutako-san please take care of her."

"Of course," the dark haired girl smiled.

"I really fucked up didn't I," Hiromi said a few minutes later as he fell into one of the makeup chairs after he and Tsutako got back to the tent he had been assigned and put his hands over his face.

"Not as much as Akemi-kun did. I'm sure if I asked around you'd be on the top of the list of every girl here," she smiled at him as she knelt in front of him. She lightly grasped his hands and pulled them away so that she could look into his eyes. "My knight," she grinned. "You were fantastic. I just hope Jirou-san can keep him from leaving. It's only the second day of the shoot," she reminded him worriedly.

"Like I said, I fucked up."

"Not in my eyes, boyo," his fiancée smiled at him.

The rest of the day's shoot was cancelled as Jirou did his best to keep their star idol from making an even bigger fool of himself by leaving work in a huff. He was told that if he didn't take his responsibilities seriously he would soon find himself with far fewer jobs and even fewer people caring. Even Akemi's manager told him he was being an ass and to go apologize not only to the girl he had slapped but to Takeda-san as well for forcing her to step in. Although the apologies never happened, Akemi did remain to begin shooting the next day. He was even on time!

"I apologize for getting in your face yesterday," Hiromi told the young man in a whispered aside during one of the morning shoots. "I don't usually react so strongly. It's just the way I was raised."

"Think nothing of it," Akemi told him with a sparkling, magnanimous smile. "All has been forgotten. I accept your apology. Let's just do our best the rest of the week."

Hiromi rolled his eyes but continued smiling for the cameras, noting a glint of amusement in Tsutako's eyes. He was trying his best to take the high road, but the asshole didn't seem to really think he had done anything wrong to apologize for.

They wrapped up the day's shooting in the early afternoon and headed back to the hotel. Tsutako, Jirou, and the other photographer were scheduled to go over the photos from the previous days; yesterday's scheduled meeting having been postponed once again due to Akemi's touchiness. Hiromi found himself with nothing better to do than enjoy the hotel's amenities so he changed into a pair of khaki colored short-shorts and a dark green Lillian polo shirt before heading down to the lobby to see what he could find of interest.

There was a bar attached to the restaurant that had a lovely view of both the ocean as well as the infinity pool. Although Hiromi wasn't yet old enough to drink he wandered in and ordered a glass of iced tea. Taking the glass the elderly bartender provided he moved over to a small table near the window. A few of the assistants, both young men and women, were lounging by the pool, a couple frolicking in its crystal blue waters. It looked like it might be fun, but only if Tsutako could be there as well. He sighed.

"Such a deep sigh from such a pretty girl," he heard a male voice say from behind him. Turning, he watched as Akemi strolled past the table to take a seat across from him, "even if she is a no-name."

"And very happy to stay that way," Hiromi calmly replied to the snide remark, not looking up from his tea once the man had settled into his chair. "I'm only doing this for my fian – friend, Tsutako-san, because the girl originally scheduled for the shoot got sick. I have no desire whatsoever to be a model."

"Tsutako, hmm, oh, you mean that cute photographer. She's kind of hot, isn't she? I wouldn't mind adding that one to the notches on my belt," he leered and wiggled his eyebrows.

Hiromi clenched the hand that lay in his lap into a fist, his long fingernails digging crescent moons into his palm. "Were you always this rude or did you grow into it?"

"What? What did I say?" the male model grinned innocently. "Or are you interested in her?" he waggled his eyebrows again. "You know, I wouldn't turn down a threesome. Despite that attitude of yours, you're not so bad yourself."

Hiromi's glass slammed down onto the table top as he tried desperately to hold on to his temper. Knowing that he would do something he would very much like to do but end up regretting if he didn't leave, he stood and threw a few bills on the table.

"What's your rush, doll?" Akemi sneered. "It's still early. If you're into other girls, I'm sure some of those bimbos out there would be happy to help you out," he grinned with a wave towards the pool and the frolicking assistants. "Although, if you went with me I'm sure you'd never want to lick another snatch," he said with a suggestive grin and yet another wiggle of his brows.

Hiromi had had enough of this cad. He leaned over suggestively, allowing the front of his shirt to sag just enough to show off his cleavage, and when the young man's eyes were totally transfixed on his breasts, whispered in his ear. "Sorry, but it would take a lot more than your tiny stub of a pencil dick to entice me."

He left Akemi sputtering, his face turning a deep fuchsia in his outrage. The old bartender gave him a thumbs up as he strutted past. Just to be on the safe side he turned and headed out to the pool to keep an eye on the other girls so that they wouldn't fall victim to the bastard.

He stayed until almost dinnertime before heading up to the room to change. He had been right with his original thoughts. It had been fun being with the assistants, but it would have been a lot better if Tsutako had been with him.


	7. Chapter 7

"Alright, that's a wrap for Akemi-kun's part of the shoot," Jirou yelled out around mid-morning a few days later. "Thank you for all your hard work, Akemi-kun."

"Yeah, yeah, my pleasure. Thanks for taking care of me," the young man replied with one of the first real smiles that Hiromi had seen on his face. It seemed that he was happiest just being done with the photoshoot.

Akemi, instead of heading towards the changing tent, went directly back to the hotel to change his clothes and catch the next train back to Tokyo. Hiromi went back to his dressing tent to change back into more comfortable clothes. As he was pulling a t-shirt on over his head there came a knocking on the tent pole.

"Come in," he called as he settled the shirt around his hips.

"Hiromi-san, I wanted to thank you for everything up until now," Jirou said as he entered the tent. "The shoot would have been ruined if you hadn't helped us out."

"I'm just glad that I could be of some assistance," the strawberry blonde smiled. "I'll admit, working with Akemi-kun wasn't all that great, but overall I had fun."

"I'm happy to hear you say that," Jirou smirked in such a way that made Hiromi nervous. "Look, we have one more day here to finish up. Would you be willing to try a little experiment?" the older man asked.

"...?"

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Tsutako asked as he was taking off his makeup. "I mean, having your picture taken as a woman is one thing, but having it taken as a man as well and then putting the two photos side-by-side? Aren't you kind of tempting fate?"

Hiromi gave a low chuckle to see how serious and worried Tsutako was. He dropped the pad he was using on the makeup table and reached around her to drag her into his lap. Her squeal of surprise was music to his ears just as the touch of her lips on his own was like the sweetest ambrosia.

"It's just an experiment love. Jirou-san told me that none of the photos would be used in the magazine unless I specifically gave him the go ahead in writing. Just exactly like you won't publish a picture without the subjects consent. He just wants to see how the two 'mes' will look when put together. Will I look like my own sibling, or will I look completely different." He chuckled again. "I have to admit that I've always wondered how I look to others when I dress as a woman versus how I look when I'm dressed as a man. I've never had a photo taken of me with my new hairstyle." He looked into her eyes. "Even you haven't asked to take my picture since I cut my hair. I always wondered what it would be like if I put a picture of myself in a Lillian uniform right next to one of me in my Hanadera uniform."

"Why didn't you say anything?" she asked him softly, running her fingers through his now short and dark hair. He had taken off his wig already and placed it carefully on the table. "I would have been happy to do that for you."

"I didn't think about it until it was too late," he explained with a wry grin and a shrug of his shoulders. "When I did, I'd already cut and colored my hair so there wasn't any way to take a 'before' picture. All we had were the photos from the shoot at Sachiko-sama's estate. However," he grinned, picking up the wig again, "I now have an opportunity to do so. Maybe not in my high school uniforms, but as close as I can come."

Tsutako sighed and then grinned at him. "Alright, but I'll tell you now, you are just as beautiful as a man as you are as a woman. Wait. Why doesn't that sound right?" she laughed.

"I'll take that as a compliment," he said, joining in her laughter.

Jirou had the photographers set up the exact same shots they had taken the previous day with Akemi and Hiromi, only this time he had Hiromi in his male guise take the position of Akemi. Most of the staff had been sent back to the hotel so it was only the four of them plus the guy holding the reflector. Tsutako's muse kicked in as she directed her fiancé how to exactly position himself for each shot. The professional photographer let her do all the directing, simply nodding his head as Hiromi took Tsutako's direction. Since he and Akemi were nearly the exact same size, although Akemi's shoulders were broader, wearing the same clothes the male model had worn was simple enough.

Tsutako thought Hiromi looked better in the clothes than Akemi did, but she kept that little tidbit to herself, only allowing a faint smile to twitch her lips every so often to show him her appreciation for just how good she thought he looked. Hiromi caught that smile and gave her a sly wink, promising much more interesting times later that night if she was a good little girl.

Jirou didn't know exactly what had passed between the two that could have created the fierce blush on his apprentice photographer's face. It did, however, bring a chuckle to his own lips.

Later that evening, after the group had had dinner together - Hiromi once again dressed in his female persona - the two photographers, Jirou, and Hiromi met in one of the hotel's conference rooms to go over the fruits of that day's labors.

"One of our technicians is a wiz at Photoshop, so cutting and pasting you into the photos that were taken yesterday was a piece of cake," Jirou told them with a large smile. "You know, it really is a shame that you don't model professionally," he told the young man. "Have you considered modeling for your own advertisements? Either as a female model in the clothes you're selling or even just as the president of the company. You're sure to spark interest in the company either way."

"I'd never really thought about it," Hiromi said honestly. "We don't really do that much advertising. Most of our customers hear about us via word of mouth. Our reputation has always been one of our highest honors. It also keeps overhead costs down so that we can pass the savings on to our customers."

"Just think how many more customers you might get with a few well placed ads," Jirou told him with a touch of excitement to his voice. "JElle is sold around the country. With this one photoshoot, if we simply mention the Takeda company's name, even if we don't specifically identify you, I'm sure that your sales will increase."

"Are you trying to sell me advertising space, Jirou-san?" Hiromi laughed.

"No, no, no," the older man said quickly with a wave of his hand. "For helping us out the way you have, in addition to your salary I'd like to mention Takeda Fashion in the story is all. That is, if you don't mind."

"I don't mind at all," Hiromi grinned. "Although I do have one request with regards to my salary."

"Yes?"

"Instead of paying me directly, could you please take my salary and make a donation to The Rose Foundation in the name of the magazine? It would mean a lot to me as well as to many more people."

"The Rose Foundation?" Jirou asked, confused. "I don't think I've heard of it. Is it a charitable organization? Tell me about it."

Hiromi was more than happy to oblige the senior editor.

-oo-

The backyard of the foundation's headquarters was festooned with paper lanterns strung from tall poles running along and across the yard providing a bright but warm yellow light flavored by the colored lanterns. The stone lanterns around the koi pond had been lit and a few candles even floated on its waters. Tables and chairs, each with its own lamplight, were evenly spaced around the yard to accommodate the fifty or sixty guests plus their families. Children ran and played with the toys that had been scattered randomly across the grass.

Tables filled with food lined the rear of the building with a drink table set up just inside the small gate so that her guests could have hot or iced tea as soon as they entered. A large grill in one corner let off heat and the sizzling aroma of broiling meat.

As soon as Yuuki walked into the yard with Touko on his arm it brought a feeling of such nostalgia that he had to sniff back a few tears. Of course it was much larger than anything from his own memory, but the feeling of a family backyard barbecue and picnic was unmistakable. As far as he was concerned, Yumi's dream of providing a feeling of homecoming to her guests had been more than achieved.

Even the food was simple, basic home cooking. If the guests had been expecting the usual high society fare they would have been gravely disappointed. The main entrees consisted of Japanese-style hamburger steak with daikon radish sauce, Japanese-style fried chicken, and grilled salmon. There was, of course, Miso soup with fried tofu and turnip greens, rice mixed with salmon and dried plum, sesame-dusted green beans and spinach, shredded radish and carrot in vinegar, and green salad with ginger dressing.

And Sayako had made enough of her famous mille feuille to feed an army.

The caterer refused to let Yumi do anything. It took both Sachiko and Sayako to remind her that she had to play hostess, but that didn't stop her from standing behind one of the tables for a while to help with the serving of the food and using the opportunity to speak with her guests in a more relaxed manner.

At one point during the evening Yumi sat quietly with Sachi, the two holding hands casually as they watched the children play. Sachiko heard Yumi give out a soft sigh.

"Maybe next time," Sachiko told her love with a sad smile to which Yumi just nodded.

"Yumi-chan has outdone herself this evening," Sayako smiled at Miki as the two sat together sipping tea after the meal had been completed and the men had gone off to mingle with some of the more affluent guests.

"I'm very proud of her," Miki responded with a grin. "She's worked so hard to bring this all together to try to thank everyone that has donated to the Foundation…and what she's done with the charity! I'm so proud of her."

"Just what I would expect of the daughter of my fairy," Sayako smiled softly with a quick glance to the dark haired woman sitting beside her.

Miki's breath caught in a hushed gasp and she blushed. "I – I didn't think you remembered."

"How could I ever forget my pretty fairy or the Pillow Book," the older woman smiled gently.

"Why didn't you say something?" Miki asked, finally turning to the mother of her daughter's lover.

"I could ask you the same question," Sayako giggled and then sighed. "It was so long ago and we were so very young. Even then my family had already affianced me to Tooru. I was allowed to complete my schooling and even work for a bit, but I always knew that I would have to become his bride and focus my life on the business and the family."

Miki nodded silently – knowingly – a sad smile on her lips.

"When my petite soeur had to transfer I thought of looking for you and asking you to become my soeur," Sayako went on, "but I knew that if I did I would want more. The times were different. Knowing that I would have no choice in my own future I didn't want to put anyone else through something like that," she sighed. "I was so proud of Sachi when she stood up to her father and grandfather to take Yumi-chan as her partner. It reminded me of my own school days and what might have been if times had been different." She smiled then and put her hand on top of Miki's where it lay on the table. "But then I think of the wonderful daughters we have brought into this world, and the love they share for each other, and I don't think that I would have wanted it any other way."

"I know what you mean," Miki smiled. "Both Yumi and Yuuki have given me so much joy, and Sachi has become as much my own daughter as Yumi is. The way she took care of Yumi when she was sick, the things she does for her, even without her knowing, the love she gives so unstintingly…and cutting off her own hair!" she laughed at the memory that had brought tears to her eyes at the time.

"I think of Yumi-chan the same way," Sayako nodded and smiled, looking deeply into the doe eyes a girl she could have loved. "She is a daughter that I would gladly claim for my own. She has such strength and has had such a dramatic impact on all of us…she gave me my husband back. And to think that it was my fairy that brought her into this world and gave her to us," she squeezed Miki's hand, "even though I lost you so long ago, you still gave me such a wonderful gift."

"At least we are together now," Miki smiled, turning her hand over and interweaving her fingers with those of the girl she had so adored while she had been but a schoolgirl at Lillian, "and as close as family may be. We have many more years ahead of us to enjoy each other's company."

"I look forward to every minute of it, my dear," Sayako grinned.

-oo-

Yumi stepped up onto the back porch of RMII and looked over the expectant crowd. She had never gotten used to public speaking, but she admitted that there were times when it was necessary. So she did what she always did. She looked unerringly into the eyes of her beloved Sachiko, took the strength and courage offered there, and spoke the words in her heart.

"I am truly blessed and honored that you all have come to join and be part of our family this evening," she spoke. "Just a couple of years ago, two people that are very dear to me found out that one of their friends was in trouble and needed some help. At the time, the issue was only a little money. They could have loaned it to her, or simply given it to her, but instead they decided that where one might be in need, surely there were others. So instead of thinking only of the one, they thought of the many. On that evening The Rose Foundation was born."

Yumi went on to tell them all about the dreams and desires of two young people to form an organization, built by the scions of two great companies, not to compete in a marketplace, but to offer sustenance and guidance, love and caring, to those in need. How from the seeds of business grew the fruit of charity. She then told them of the dreams of another great woman, a woman that they all loved and missed terribly, who had donated her great fortune and the property upon which they then stood to the Foundation so that it might do as much good as she could ever hope.

She went on to tell them of the things the Foundation had already done, the plans they were in the process of fulfilling, and their hopes and dreams for the future. She thanked them for their generous donations, but more importantly she welcomed them into her family, with all the hope and love that she could muster.

There were many handkerchiefs in use by the time she was finished, and even more smiles on the faces of her guests.

It was at that point that Tsutako, who had been taking photos almost the entire evening, spoke up from the crowd.

"You should all know as well that The Rose Foundation has just today received a relatively hefty donation from JElle Magazine along with the full salary of one of its models. They will also be mentioning the Foundation, its accomplishments and its plans in their upcoming edition. Please be sure to take a look." She then got a very evil grin on her face. "And if you're really observant, you might even recognize one of the models," she smirked as she put her arm around Hiromi's waist. The one-armed squeeze he gave back forced the breath from her lungs.

"Don't go telling secrets now love," he whispered with a grin.

"Just wait until you see the cover love," she whispered in return, an evil grin on her face.

"Male or female?"

"Both," she replied with a wide smile, "but the magazine's going to withhold the names of both models. They thought the mystery might increase sales and your secret stays safe. You're only shown as a male on the cover. Jirou-kun tried to talk them out of it but had to admit that it was the best picture of the lot."

"And if it's the one I'm thinking about it was one of yours," he grinned at her. "Your first cover. No wonder you've been strutting around like a proud peacock all evening," he chuckled. "We'll have to celebrate."

"I know what _I_ want," she told him with a certain look that always took his breath away.

"I wonder if they would miss us?" he grinned as he took her by the hand and started to drag her towards the steps to their apartment.

"I have to take pictures still!" she exclaimed laughingly.

"There will be other parties," he laughed along with her but slowed down his walk. He then turned to her and, behind one of the taller bushes that hid them from the ongoing party, stole a kiss that took _her_ breath away. "Consider that a down payment for later," he smirked.

"I'll hold you to that," Tsutako smiled.

-oo-

The various members of the Lillian and Hanadera student councils both past and present, but excluding Yumi and Sachiko who were still making their rounds, had all been seated at a single table for the festivities.

"Yumi-chan has really outdone herself," Youko said with a smile as she looked across the manicured lawn at all the happy guests, "although it really shouldn't surprise me anymore."

"Just what I would expect from a Chinensis," Eriko grinned.

"How did you slip away from Yamanobe-sensei?" Sei smirked. "I could have sworn that the two of you were joined at the hip."

"He and some of the other professors had a late meeting," Eriko replied with a roll of her eyes.

"Ah, a drinking party," Sei laughed, holding up her own glass of wine as if to emphasize her deduction.

"Most likely," Eriko sighed, "but he's going to wish he hadn't missed this," she smiled as she looked fondly on the young girl she'd brought with her to the party as Yamanobe-san's daughter played with some of the other kids. "I'm sure the food here is much better than what he's being forced to endure."

"And the company is much better," Sei laughed again, drinking down almost the entire glass of wine which was about half full.

"Careful onee-sama," Shimako chided her grande soeur. "You don't want to embarrass Yumi-san tonight."

"Yes Shimako-chan," Sei sighed. "Are you two going to be tag teaming me the whole night," she asked Youko with a hurt expression.

"Actually it's triple teaming, Sei-sama," Noriko grinned at her from across the table. Sei put her head down, admitting defeat.

"You look very nice tonight, Alice-san," Touko told the young man that was currently wearing a very fetching light green sundress and a pair of matching espadrilles. The color of the dress highlighted her hair and eyes quite nicely.

"Thank you very much Touko-san," Alice smiled disarmingly, completely comfortable now with the members of the Yamayurikai. "You look nice as well Touko-san." She leaned forward so that she could whisper in the spiral pigtailed girl's ear, "being in love suits you very well," she grinned.

Touko stammered a bit at the overly forward comment but couldn't help but smile. "Just keep your hands off, Alice-san," she warned the transgendered boy. "Yuuki-kun's mine!"

"Don't worry Touko-san," Alice laughed, turning to glance across the yard to where Suguru-kun was speaking with one of the men that had provided some significant donations to the Foundation. "I have my eye on someone else if he'll ever give me a chance," she sighed.

Touko looked to where Alice-san was gazing and had to grin. "If you're very nice I might let you in on a few secrets that could help you in that direction, Alice-san," she smiled wickedly.

"Tempting, Touko-san. Very tempting," Alice returned her grin.

"Oh girl, you don't know the half of it," Touko laughed. "The things I could tell you!"

Alice stared at her quietly for a second, surprised, before a tear slipped down her cheek.

"Alice-san, what's wrong," Yumi's petite soeur asked with concern, putting a hand over the other girl's.

"Thank you Touko-san," she said softly.

"For what?" Touko asked in confusion as she took the girl's hand into her own and clasped it tightly.

"For calling me a girl," Alice smiled gently as Touko wiped away the tear.

Touko didn't know what to say so she just pulled Alice into a hug and placed a soft kiss on her cheek. She tried to remember the last time she had thought of Alice as a guy and couldn't for the life of her think of it. She had gotten so used to calling her Alice-san or just Alice that it never occurred to her to call her anything else. This time it had just slipped out as a turn of phrase, but she realized that it was true. She _did_ think of Alice as a girl and had for at least as long as they had been working together at the Foundation.

She sat back after a moment and again wiped the tears from Alice's eyes. "Don't go crying in front of Suguru-kun too much," she advised the girl. "He appreciates strength above just about anything else."

"I'll keep that in mind," Alice smiled, pulling a lace embroidered handkerchief from the pocket of her sundress and dabbing carefully at her eyes so as not to make a mess of her mascara.

"I'll tell you one more thing," she whispered in the girl's ear. "Don't think he didn't notice that you felt comfortable enough to come dressed as you are. That in itself says a lot about your strength." Touko noticed Suguru glancing their way with a slightly worried look on his face. "Why don't we go say hello? I'm sure he'd like a break from having to speak with all of the guests."

Alice gave her a smile and a nod and, with a final sniff and wipe of her eyes, the two got up from the table and sauntered over to the good looking young man. Suguru put a hand on Alice's shoulder and glanced at her to make sure she was all right while Alice just laughed and put her hand atop his.

He left his hand where it was as he grinned at the young lady.

"I wish her luck," Sei told Youko with a smile as she watched the three talking together.

"You're mellowing Sei," Youko smiled back.

"It's this lousy influence you've had on me," Sei smirked as she reached behind her and snagged another bottle of wine from the tray of a passing waiter.

Youko rolled her eyes and sighed. "Whatever am I going to do with you?"

"I'll tell you when we get back to my place," Sei grinned wolfishly, earning herself a quick kiss on the cheek and a slight blush on her girlfriend's cheeks.

"I'll hold you to that," Youko grinned.

-oo-

The party was an unmitigated success and they even managed to receive promises of upwards of another ten million yen in donations after Yumi's speech.

But the physical exertions and the constant moving around and speaking with people, coupled with the relief of having the party finally over with, had taken its toll on Yumi. By the end of the evening she was running solely on fumes and, when the last guest had left, had to be carried to her bed by Sachiko.

* * *

A/N: The next chapter, actually Chapter 7.5 of this story, will be featured in my Neither Rhyme Nor Reason collection. The chapter will be entitled "The Captured Prince" and will feature Touko and Yuuki. If you dislike hetfic, I would suggest that you skip it. You won't really miss much of the plotline if you do.

Take care all, (and don't forget to review :)

CX


	8. Chapter 8

Yumi somehow made it through the weekend with her family and the "omiai" for Yuuki and Touko-chan, but then ended up spending the next three straight days in bed with a low grade fever and a debilitating feeling of fatigue. Sachiko was constantly at her side while Hiromi or Tsutako dropped by frequently to help with the cooking and cleaning and to check on the status of their dear friend. Watanabe-sensei used the excuse of checking on the progress in completing the buildout for the new clinic to stop by the apartment and check on his favorite patient. He informed the worried Sachiko that Yumi would be fine, that she had just overworked herself between studying for exams, running the day-to-day operations of the charity, and preparing for the party. He assured her that she should be better in a few days. Just to be on the safe side he left her a couple of prescriptions to be filled to combat the symptoms.

"I'm sorry Sachi," Yumi said softly. "Once again I'm making you take care of me."

"I don't mind Yumi," her blue-eyed lover told her with a smile as she used a finger to gently sweep a few strands of damp hair away from Yumi's eyes. "You just have to promise me not to over-do like this in the future. You need to take better care of yourself. I want you in my life for many, many years to come." She couldn't help it when a tear dripped down her cheek to fall onto the blanket pulled up to Yumi's chin. Yumi reached up to wipe the tears away only to have Sachiko grab her hand and hold it to her cheek. "P-please promise me Yumi," Sachiko begged her.

"I promise Sachi. I promise," Yumi replied softly, cupping the black haired girl's cheek and drawing her down into a gentle kiss. "I promise I'll take better care of myself from now on," she whispered.

Yumi absolutely hated seeing her lover cry, especially when she knew that those tears were a result of her own stupidity. She'd just have to learn how to delegate better and not try to do so much on her own. She had to remind herself that it was still only about four-and-a-half months since her leukemia went into remission and that she really shouldn't be pushing herself so hard, but she had never been a quitter and it felt too much like she was giving into her disease if she tried to take it too easy. But if it kept those silent tears out of Sachi's eyes than she'd do it.

The Director of the Rose Foundation called a meeting of all volunteers for that following Friday and announced that she would be taking a week off to spend some time with Sachi up at her family's summer home, leaving Hiromi in charge. She also apologized to them while saying that she would be delegating more and counting on them to help her out more than she had in the past. To her great surprise her announcements were met with a warm round of applause and calls like "it's about time" and "glad to hear it."

"Please count on us more, Yumi-sama," Alice smiled up at her, speaking for all of them. "That is why we volunteered in the first place. Not just because we believed in the Foundation's mission, but because you were here."

"Thank you Alice-san," Yumi smiled softly as she pulled the girl into a big hug. "I'll be looking to you to help me with so much. I'll be counting on all of you," she said over Alice's shoulder to everyone crowded into the RMII meeting room.

"I see she's finally given up on trying to get everyone to stop calling her 'Yumi-sama'," Suguru chuckled under his breath as he stood in one corner of the room next to a smiling Sachan.

"I reminded her that beating her head against a brick wall would only hurt her head and leave no impression whatsoever on the wall," Sachiko laughed softly. "As her onee-sama I'm glad that there are a few things that I can still teach her."

"And as other than her onee-sama?" Suguru asked with a knowing grin.

"She's teaching me so very much more than I could ever have taught her," Sachiko replied with an air of humility and pride in her girlfriend.

"You are truly and totally in love, aren't you, Sachan," he commented to her with a gentle grin.

"What about you?" she asked him with a very slight nod of her head towards where Yumi was standing with her arm still around Alice-san's shoulders. Now that it was after school hours she was once again dressed in a light summer dress with matching shoes. "Don't think I didn't notice how you hovered around Alice-san at the party last Friday."

He grinned even wider on the brink of saying something jokingly, but then shook his head, not in denial but with a touch of exasperation. "He's...she's...oh, hell, _she's_ something else, isn't she? I swear she'd wear dresses all the time if the dress code at Hanadera U, as lenient as it is, didn't at least require some form of slacks."

"She's also got the legs and shape to pull it off," Sachiko said, then giggled when Suguru-kun's eyes very obviously traced a line from Alice's slim ankles to her pretty face framed with light brown curls. "Quit looking so perverted Suguru," she laughed at him.

"As a man I would be remiss if I didn't take every opportunity to view and appreciate the beauty of the female...well, the _human_ form," he finished with a self-deprecating chuckle.

"Is your orientation wavering just a bit Suguru?" Sachiko laughed at him.

"Not at all," he protested, "it's just bit confused when it comes to Alice-san," he grinned.

"If you're confused, think about poor Alice," the dark haired girl sighed. "And yet she seems much more confident these days. She's so different from the crying, clutching girl she was when I first met her. So much more assured of herself."

"I think that's what ultimately attracted me to her," Suguru nodded. "Back when she was at Hanadera she was much less sure of herself and how others would accept her. These days it's as if she doesn't care as much about what others think. She knows that those she cares about, and care about her, accept her as she is and that's all she needs. It's kind of sexy," he winked at his cousin.

At that moment, as if she knew she was being talked about, Alice turned to glance at the two where they stood in the corner of the room. She gave them warm smile and a nod before turning back to answer a question someone had asked her. She made it look completely unconscious and natural, but she cocked one hip and then ran a hand suggestively over her rear end before briefly turning back and giving Suguru-kun a quick smirk.

"Oh, you are in so much trouble buster," Sachiko laughed at him behind her hand.

"I think I could get used to that kind of trouble," he grinned, shifting his stance so as to hide the physical evidence of his growing interest.

-oo-

Just seeing the picturesque western style cottage sitting amongst the green trees seemed to loosen something in Yumi's back and neck. She could feel her muscles relaxing as Sachiko parked the car on the gravel drive. The brown haired girl rolled her head and her shoulders to work out the kinks of the long drive, but even those small movements seemed to loosen more than just her muscles and tendons. It was as if a large, heavy weight that she hadn't even known she had been carrying was suddenly lifted from her narrow shoulders. Her movements and her quiet sigh of relief did not go unnoticed by her partner.

"Feeling better Yumi?" Sachiko grinned.

"Much," Yumi replied with a smile of her own, "but what about you? This is the first time you've made this drive yourself. Up until now you've always ridden in the back and slept for most of the trip. Are you all right?"

"I think I could use one of Hiromi-san's patented massages," the black haired girl laughed, running her hands along her own shoulders, "and I still plan on taking a nice long nap, but it wasn't anywhere as near as bad a drive as I thought it was going to be."

"Well," Yumi grinned mischievously, "I'm sure the nap is possible, but even if Hiromi-san's not here I think I can remember his lessons well enough to give you a massage."

"Hmm, something tells me I won't be getting that nap for a while yet," Sachiko's blue eyes sparkled with laughter as well as a desire that Yumi still marveled to see knowing that it was reserved just for her. She looked forward to giving her lover that massage, and the shower or bath afterwards, before the two would lay down for a welcome nap until dinnertime.

Getting out of the car she looked up at the old house that she had been coming to with Sachiko since the summer of her second year at Lillian Academy. The two main sections of the grey, wooden sided house were separated by a tall and narrow two story section that looked almost like a tower and housed the stairs leading from the first to the second floor. Off the left side of the house was a covered porch where Sachiko liked to sit and read. It was a beautiful home and one that she had become to feel very comfortable in.

This would be her third time to spend the night beneath its brown shingled roof and only the second time in the same bedroom as Sachi. The last time they had spent a week here they had had no inkling of what trials and tribulations were to come the following fall and winter. Yumi shook her head vigorously to eliminate those thought from her mind. She was here to relax, not to think about the painful past.

"Yumi," Sachiko spoke her name, the worry in her own mind evident.

"I'm fine Sachi," Yumi smiled. "Probably just a little more tired than I thought."

"Then why don't we hold off on the massage and take a nap first," the blue-eyed girl suggested. "We have tonight and the rest of the week to ourselves for other...entertainments," she giggled.

The front door to the cottage opened just as Sachiko pressed the button on her key fob that opened the trunk so that she could get to the luggage stored within.

"Sachiko-ojousama, Yumi-sama" a middle-aged woman spoke from the doorstep, delight in her voice and in her slowly aging features.

"Let me get those for you, Sachiko-ojousama, Yumi-sama," her husband offered with a wide smile of his own at the sight of the two girls.

"Kiyo-san, Gensuke-san, it's good to see you," Yumi grinned, rushing to take the older woman in her arms and give her a hug while her husband got the suitcases from the trunk of the car. The Sawamuras had been watching over the Ogasawara summer home for years and had fallen in love with Sachiko's partner on her very first visit.

"Please come inside and make yourselves comfortable," Kiyo offered as Sachiko also gave her a warm hug.

"Thank you for taking care of us again, Kiyo, Gensuke," Sachiko smiled as she ended the embrace. "The place looks fabulous as always."

"Thank you ojou-sama," Gensuke said with a nod as he carried the bags to the front porch. "Would you like these in your usual room?" he asked, already knowing that they would not be staying separately.

"Yes please Gensuke," Sachiko replied, stepping up and following him inside.

"Are you well Yumi-sama?" Kiyo asked, a touch of concern in her voice for the young girl that had been through so much since the last time she had seen her. Sayako-ojousama had been kind enough to keep them abreast of Yumi's illness and eventual recovery during the year, but this was the first time the older woman had had a chance to actually speak with the young woman that had become so much a part of the family they had claimed as their own.

"Yes, thank you, Kiyo-san," Yumi replied with a gentle smile for the woman. "Although my poor hair seems to have gotten the worst of it," she chuckled to take the sting out of the only obvious relic of her illness.

"It is much shorter," Kiyo chuckled, running a hand through the short hair, "but also much softer. It becomes you, Yumi-sama."

"Thank you," Yumi said as she linked her arm through Kiyo's and the two walked onto the porch and entered the cottage. "I'm sorry that I have no rice for you again this year," she laughed softly, remembering for the first time without embarrassment the shipment of rice her mother had sent ahead of them the first time she had come here.

"That's all right. I bought a bag as soon as I heard you and ojou-sama were coming," the dark haired woman replied with an answering chuckle of her own. "Oh, and I wanted to let you know," she said as she reached over to a small table by the front door and handed an envelope to her, "that your invitation to Saionji-obaasama's birthday party has arrived. It's scheduled for Thursday. I took the liberty of opening it for you. She added a hand-written note specifically asking that you join her and to please sing _Maria's Heart_ for her again this year, Yumi-sama."

"Thank you again Kiyo-san. I guess that she'll be ninety this year. To think a person can live that long," Yumi said thoughtfully, her voice fading out as her lower lip began to tremble. Kiyo must have seen something in her face.

"Is everything all right Yumi-sama?" she asked quietly with a crease of concern in her brow.

"Yes, I'm fine," Yumi replied just as softly, not bothering to hide her sadness from the older woman. "It's just...I'm missing having dinner with a friend this Thursday. I hate to miss our appointment, but she insisted that I come here and rest instead."

"Then I'm sure that she would prefer for you to rest and enjoy yourself rather than worrying about her," Kiyo told the young girl.

"Yes, I'm sure you're right," Yumi looked up with a small smile. "Well, if I'm going to be performing again," she said, straightening her back and putting a smile on her face, "then I guess I'll have to do a little practicing. Is the piano in tune?"

"Of course Yumi-sama," Kiyo laughed. "Did you think that we would allow our ojou-sama's precious instrument to become unusable?"

"Of course not," Yumi laughed along with her at her joke.

"Yumi," Sachiko called from the top of the stairs, "are you coming?"

"Yes onee-sama," Yumi replied happily, nodding to Kiyo and then bounding up the stairs to join her partner in bed.

-oo-

The two, after giving each other very brief and non-erotic back and shoulder massages to work out the kinks from the long drive, slept deeply until dinnertime. After a delightful home-cooked meal that neither one had to lift a finger to prepare they moved out onto the veranda to listen to the birds singing and the soft breeze through the leaves. They laughed at a pair of squirrels playing, chasing each other from tree to tree, branch to branch, and amongst the piles of last year's dead leaves and fallen branches. Sachiko gasped in fright as one squirrel fell from a tall branch only to grasp one further down with its sharp claws and flip up to a sitting position, glancing their way with a tilt to its head as if to say "I meant to do that." Both girls laughed themselves silly at the little squirrel's antics.

They played a couple of games of _Go_ beneath a combination of soft lamplight and the moonlight bathing the porch until Yumi's yawns told the both of them that it was time for bed even though it was still early. It was the most relaxing evening the two had spent together since the start of the school year and a desperately needed respite from the frantic pace they had been living recently.

"Sorry I'm such a wimp," Yumi apologized from her side of the bed as Sachi pulled her into her arms, Yumi's back to her front as they slept most nights.

"We have all week darling," Sachiko said softly as she used one hand to gently play with her lover's hair. "There's no rush to be doing anything. This whole trip is to allow us to simply relax and be together without the hassles and headaches we've grown accustomed to."

"I still feel a little guilty about leaving everything to Hiromi like we did," Yumi admitted.

"And he told me to tell you when, _not if_, you raised that issue, that after having to deal with someone like Akemi Okabe, handling the Foundation is going to seem like a vacation," Sachi giggled. "He also told me he plans to do everything he can to throw Suguru and Alice-san together this week."

"Why don't I have any problems seeing him in the role of matchmaker?" Yumi giggled in return.

-oo-

Yumi and Sachiko spent the next few days lounging around the house, walking in the woods, sauntering through various restaurants and shops in town, and basically taking life slow and easy. The only major event they had to plan for during the week was Saionji-obaasama's birthday party and the annual "talent show" as Yumi liked to call it. What Sachiko called it under her breath she kept to herself, but her lip curled with disgust every time the event was raised in conversation. Even though Yumi had made her proud and put every one of her detractors in their place that first time they had tried to publicly humiliate her, it still infuriated Sachiko that they had the audacity to try to do that to her petite soeur in the first place.

Now that they knew it was coming they spent a few minutes each day practicing their duet for piano and voice. It was after one such practice that Sachiko got a look on her face that told Yumi she was worried about something.

"What is it love?" she asked her raven haired partner.

"I'm just thinking that maybe we should go into town, maybe look for some new dresses and get our hair done for the party." Sachiko said without looking up, her eyes still staring at the piano keys as if they held some monumental answer.

Yumi took a seat on the bench beside her lover and grasped one of the hands lying dormant in her lap.

"Sachi...are you ashamed of me?"

"What! No! Of course not!" Sachiko exclaimed. She turned to look at the girl she loved more than life itself to see moisture gathering at the corner of those expressive brown eyes. "No love. Never!" she said in only a slightly quieter voice. "I was just thinking that those crows will look for absolutely anything to nitpick and belittle you for and if spending just a few thousand yen would still their shrill voices on just one more topic..."

"But wouldn't we then be giving in to them and trying to cater to their sense of what's right or wrong, good or bad?" Yumi asked sensibly, wiping at her eyes. "I'd rather do what we did at the ball and set new standards rather than try to bow to their warped insecurities."

Once again her petite soeur was teaching her rather than the other way around by reminding her of all that they had already overcome in their quest to stay by each other's side. If they had the strength to stand up to the Ogasawara patriarch and her father, people she loved and cared for, why would they bow down now to people that she didn't even respect?

"You're right of course Yumi," Sachiko nodded and smiled, turning her hand over and intertwining her fingers with her lover's. "We're not going to the party for them anyway. We're going to pay our respect to a woman that has already shown that she cares for you."

"For us, love," Yumi smiled, raising her hand to cup Sachi's cheek tenderly. "Saionji-obaasama is the one that specifically asked us to join her to celebrate her birthday, not her grand-daughter."

Sachiko raised their two hands and placed a kiss on the back of Yumi's hand. "Then let's dress for her and no one else," Sachi grinned. "But I'm not shaving my head again," she giggled, causing Yumi to laugh along with her.


	9. Chapter 9

When the evening of the party rolled around, despite her brave words, Sachiko was more nervous than Yumi was. Yumi threaded her fingers with those of her love and gave her hand a squeeze.

"Don't worry Sachi," she smiled up at her partner, "we've been through much more than this before together. After attending the ball with bald heads I'm sure this will be a walk in the park."

"Then you were surrounded by those that loved you, Yumi," Sachiko sighed and shook her head. "Tonight we are once again entering the lion's den where very few will be so caring."

"I have you by my side Sachi," Yumi grinned. "You're all I'll ever need. Besides, Touko-chan and Yuuki will be here as well so we'll definitely have a couple of supporters with us. And tonight will be our very first formal gathering as partners in society. We both have to do our best."

"You're right Yumi," Sachiko agreed with her, pulling herself up taller and straightening her shoulders. "We won't give them the satisfaction of looking down on us."

"That's my girl," Yumi giggled, bringing forth an answering smile from her taller date for the evening.

The Saionji butler opened the door for them before they even had a chance to knock and then showed them to the grand ballroom where the event was taking place.

"Ogasawara Sachiko-sama and Fukuzawa Yumi-sama," he announced them to the gathered crowd.

The two walked hand-in-hand into the room full of people dressed in suits and calf-length dresses of all colors. Yumi had elected to wear the dress she had worn to the Foundation party, a plain summer weight dress in off-white and short-sleeves accented by pure white stitching across the bodice. Sachiko had also chosen a simple, strapped dress in a deep blue with a hemline that hit just below her knees.

Yukari Saionji, acting once again as her family's hostess, met them just inside the double doors indicating for a waiter with a tray of juices to offer her guests some refreshment.

"Sachiko-oneesama, Yumi-san, thank you for joining us this evening. I'm sure my great-grandmother will be pleased." She noted the hands still clasped softly together. There was a tenderness in that grasp, but not an iota of nervousness, much to her chagrin.

"I had heard a rumor," another voice entered the conversation, that of another young woman. This one had short black hair cut into a bob and blue eyes. Despite the early hour and the warm weather she wore a floor length black gown, "but I was sure that the speaker must have been mistaken. I told them that there was no way that our dear Sachiko-oneesama would have fallen into such a perverted trap."

Yumi's face betrayed her sudden anger and she was about to open her mouth when Sachiko squeezed her hand tightly, telling her to calm herself and that she would handle the matter. Yumi's eyes still sparked, but she shut her mouth, her lips forming a taught line of indignation.

"If you're speaking of the fact that Yumi and I have become partners as well as soeurs," Sachiko replied to the blunt and impolite language, lifting Yumi's hand in her own as if it were evidence enough, "then I'm afraid that you owe your friend an apology for they were telling the truth. As to anything else regarding our relationship, we'll just leave that to your imagination."

"But…but Sachiko-oneesama…" the black haired Kikuyo Ayanokouji sputtered and whimpered, tears suddenly falling down her cheeks. "Once again Yumi-san is simply too greedy. How could you force your deviant thoughts upon our pure Sachiko-oneesama."

"You always were a crybaby, Kikuyo-san," Sachiko said sternly while rolling her eyes. "If you think your crocodile tears are going to make a dent in our love for one another you are sadly mistaken. And if you can't control yourself better than this then I suggest that you take yourself off until you have remembered that you are a guest in someone's home and should act as such."

At Sachiko's words of rebuke the girl stomped her foot and hastened through the double doors to the ballroom, crying all the way, but not without one backwards glance of fury at the girl holding Sachiko-sama's hand.

"I apologize for the scene my friend created, Sachiko-sama, Yumi-san," Yukari sighed. "If you'll excuse me?" At Sachiko's nod the girl with wavy brown hair strode after her friend.

"It seems we've been outed Sachi," Yumi giggled, her anger flown by the way that her lover had adroitly handled the pair. Yumi's laughter brought an answering smile to her love's face.

"Did you note that I'm no longer 'Sachiko-oneesama' to Yukari-san?" Sachi chuckled.

"Oh, how the mighty have fallen," Yumi giggled.

"Onee-sama!" a girl with spiral pigtails called out to the brown-eyed girl.

"Touko-chan!" Yumi exclaimed in delight, letting go of Sachiko's hand so that she could take her petite soeur into her arms. "I was hoping you'd be here this evening."

"I figured you'd need someone in your corner besides Sachiko-sama," Touko grinned as a young man looking very much like Yumi stepped up beside her so that he could get a hug from his sister when his girlfriend was done with her. "Besides, now that we're affianced I needed to introduce Yuuki-kun to some of the people he'd have to learn how to deal with," Touko said with a snide glance at the doors through which Yukari and Kikuyo had disappeared.

"I'm sure they'll settle down soon," Yumi grinned as she hugged her brother.

"You haven't known them as long as I have, onee-sama," Touko sniffed with disdain. "If anything they'll be trying all the harder to break you two apart."

"Then I hope they know how to accept defeat gracefully," Sachiko sighed, "but I somehow doubt that was part of their rearing." The tall girl turned to look at Yumi's brother where he stood with Touko-chan's arm wrapped around his now that the greetings had been completed. Well, almost all.

"You look very handsome in your suit, Yuuki-kun," Sachiko smiled at him. "But don't I get a hug as well?"

"Of course Sachi," Yuuki grinned, putting actions to words and enfolding his sister's partner in a warm embrace. "You both look lovely as well, but not as lovely as my date this evening," he grinned as Touko reclaimed his arm.

"He's learning," Sachiko chuckled to Yumi.

"He's a smart boy," Touko grinned as well, much to Yuuki's embarrassment.

"Is there anyone else here we might know?" Yumi asked her petite soeur.

Touko was about to reply in the negative when the butler showed up at the door again to announce the next pair of visitors.

"Kashiwagi Suguru-sama and…A-Alice-sama," he seemed to trip over his tongue.

All eyes turned to take in the sight of the tall, dark haired, handsome young man that had been Sachiko's fiancé not so long ago. As usual he was dashing in his navy blue suit as he entered the room with a diminutive figure on his arm dressed in a stylish pastel green dress. The dress hit her about mid-knee and had short sleeves and a modest neckline embroidered with small pink and white butterflies. The girl had short, wavy brown hair and large brown eyes that shone with a love of life that matched the smile on her face.

"Alice-san!" Yumi exclaimed with delight.

"Yumi-sama, Sachiko-sama, Touko-san and Yuuki-kun, it's so good to see you," Alice smiled at her four friends.

"Alice-san, you look beautiful tonight. I love that dress on you!" Yumi told her with a wide smile as she grasped the smiling girl's hands and held them out away from her body so that she could see the full effect.

"Thank you Yumi-sama," Alice replied, almost preening under the praise of a girl she looked up to so much, "and doesn't Suguru-kun look so handsome!" she said glancing up lovingly at her "date" for the evening. They were actually only there to support Sachiko and Yumi, but Alice was going to enjoy the situation even if it was a bit of a drama.

"Yumi-san doesn't think of me that way, Alice-chan," Suguru laughed.

"Ah, but as a woman I can still appreciate the _human_ form," Yumi chuckled.

"I see Sachan has been speaking out of school again," Suguru sighed, putting a dramatic hand over his eyes and causing his friends to laugh or giggle at his stricken attitude.

"But," Yumi spoke softly, grasping his hand tightly and letting her eyes say what was in her heart, "you know we love you."

Suguru's eyes widened somewhat in surprise at this declaration of caring, the first time he had ever heard it from the girl he himself had come to care so much about, and actually felt his eyes begin to water. He blinked a few times to try to push the sudden moisture from his eyes, but the hug she then gave him pushed a few of them over the brink. He, timidly at first, but then with greater comfort, put his arms around her shoulders and pulled the shorter girl closer.

"Thank you Yumi-chan," he whispered softly only for her ears.

"It suddenly hit me that I hadn't said it yet," Yumi said, leaning back somewhat to look up into his now smiling countenance. "If I learned anything over the past year it is that you shouldn't put off telling those that you care about how you truly feel. Sometimes tomorrow never comes. I do love you Suguru-kun. For everything you have done for us, for the love you have for Sachi and Touko-chan, and for the love I know you have for me, I will always love you."

Suguru, for probably the first time in his life, could find no words to say so he simply nodded his head and let her brush the few tears from his eyes before she hugged him tightly again and then stepped back to reclaim the hand of her love.

"We should probably do a little more mingling," Touko-chan smiled at the group to break up the sudden silence, as comfortable as it was. "Suguru-kun, Alice-chan, would you like me to do the honors since I'm already introducing Yuuki to the various sharks and barracudas in attendance?"

"If you wouldn't mind," Suguru replied for himself and his date. "While I know most everyone here they're not really of my social circle. We primarily came to pay our respects to Saionji-obaasama."

"And to show off your date," Yumi quipped with a smirk, at that moment knowing the young man probably better than he did himself.

"If you say so," Suguru replied with a sardonic smile.

The group, having unwittingly meandered off to one side and away from the entrance to the grand ballroom, broke up with Yumi and Sachiko heading in one direction and the rest of the group heading in another.

-oo-

After Touko and Yuuki finished speaking with the fortieth, or was it fiftieth, pair of socialites the two wandered over to the bar in the corner to replenish their glasses of sparkling cider.

"I won't ask if you're having a good time," Touko giggled softly. "It's necessary, but it's never any fun; not like it is partying with really good people like those at the Foundation party last week.

"You're right," Yuuki chuckled in return. "It's not very fun right now, but I've heard so many stories of parties just like this one from both Yumi and Sachi as well as Suguru-sempai that I was at least tentatively prepared for it." He chuckled again, "but last week's party really was so much better. Yumi's idea of a 'family picnic' went over really well with everyone there, and it really did feel like we were just one big family, even if it was only for that one evening."

"Something tells me it wasn't just for the one evening," Touko-chan smiled up at him. "Sachiko-oneesama told me that somehow a good portion of those attending heard about how Yumi had collapsed afterwards. The Foundation's been receiving cards, letters, and even phone calls wishing her well and hoping she would be better soon. A few even offered to send over their personal physicians."

Yuuki couldn't help but laugh quietly at hearing that his sister had done it again. How she seemed to draw everyone close to her into her aura was a mystery to him; however, the end results were always the same. "Why doesn't that surprise me?" he chuckled as his girlfriend joined in, knowing just exactly what he was thinking.

"Excuse me, I didn't mean to be eavesdropping but I couldn't help but overhear your conversation," a young man with dark hair in a medium blue suit said as he joined them. "You were discussing Fukuzawa Yumi-sama, were you not? Of the Rose Foundation?"

_Another '–sama'_, Yuuki thought to himself, trying hard not to laugh.

Touko-chan simply smiled and nodded to the young man, encouraging him to continue.

"My – I lost my brother to cancer when he was just nine years old," the young man said softly, looking only at the half-full glass in his hand. "I was only ten at the time myself, but I decided to make it my life's work to help others. My parents helped put me through college and medical school. I'm now a resident at a small hospital in the countryside." He stopped briefly to take a breath and a sip of his drink before continuing, having captured their attention completely. "I heard through a fellow doctor friend of mine about the Foundation, and about Fukuzawa-sama, and I wanted to find out how I could volunteer to help. I know I'm only a resident, but…" he trailed off, the hope and desperation in his voice fading out along with his words, but his eyes still shown with those feelings.

"Do you have a card?" Yuuki asked the young man. When the card was handed over Yuuki wrote down the phone number for the Foundation along with their email address and website. "Here is their contact information," he said, returning the card to the young man. "I'm sure they would be more than pleased to hear from you," he smiled.

"Th-thank you," the young man gushed. "Thank you so much…"

"Fukuzawa Yuuki," Yuuki grinned, shaking the young man's hand. "Yumi is my sister. If you're honest in your desire to help I'm sure that she would welcome you."

"Th-Thank you again, Fukuzawa-sama," the young man grinned back, nodding over and over as he backed away.

"That was odd," Yuuki smiled thoughtfully.

"He must have arrived after onee-sama and Sachiko-oneesama were announced. Why didn't you just introduce him to onee-sama?" Touko asked her boyfriend with a slightly confused look on her face.

"For two reasons," Yuuki replied, turning to her and putting an arm loosely around her waist, moving off further into the crowd. "First, Yumi would be embarrassed. Even though I'm sure she'd handle it well, it would still be awkward for her. Second, I want to make sure he's being totally truthful. With the crowd we're in tonight I wouldn't put it past some of the girls that tried to humiliate Yumi two years ago to try something. I wouldn't want either Yumi or the Foundation's name to be tarnished by something like that."

"While I understand your reticence, I don't think he was lying," Touko said thoughtfully. She smiled then. "Take it from someone who's more than accomplished at acting and wearing masks. From what I could tell he was being honest; both about his brother as well as his desire to volunteer."

"Then he'll contact us and we'll put him to work," Yuuki grinned back at her.

"I wonder if he'd be willing to work at the clinic…under supervision of Watanabe-sensei or Miura-sensei?" Touko-chan asked.

"He'll probably jump at the chance," Yuuki smiled.

"What was his name?"

"Edagawa-sensei. His card said he's a resident in orthopedics and sports medicine."

"Oh! That's a specialty we can definitely use in the clinic with all the student athletes at both Lillian and Hanadera!" Touko-chan exclaimed excitedly.

Yuuki hoped for Edagawa-sensei's sake that he was being honest. _If Touko-chan finds out he's been lying, the young doctor will probably need an ortho of his own_, he thought with a smile for his girlfriend.

-oo-

About a half-hour later, after all the guests had arrived, Saionji-obaasama, still in her wheelchair, was rolled into the ballroom by her granddaughter. The old woman didn't look nearly as angry as she had that first year Yumi had met her. She had told the pigtailed girl the previous year that she had gotten used to the changes that her children had made to her home against her wishes. She still didn't like that they had remodeled the house without her permission, but there were a few amenities that had been added, like the wheelchair ramp at the front door and the lowered sink in her bathroom, that she was happy with. At least one of her grandchildren had thought about making the house a bit more wheelchair friendly.

As soon as the woman was situated in her usual spot her head started to slowly swivel, looking at all of her guests, but obviously searching. As soon as she spotted Yumi and Sachiko her face lit up with delight and she slowly raised a trembling hand, motioning for the two girls to join her.

"Happy birthday obaa-sama," Yumi said with a wide smile for the old woman.

"Happy birthday," Sachi added, leaning forward to place a soft kiss on the woman's cheek.

"Yumi-chan, Sachiko-chan, it is so good to see the two of you." She turned to look closely at Yumi who was kneeling in front of her and then reached out to gently touch her now short hair. "So they were telling me the truth, my grandchildren. You had a rough time of it after you left us last summer, Yumi-chan."

"I won't lie to you, obaa-sama," Yumi smiled sadly, "I almost didn't make it back here." She reached out and took hold of Sachi's hand and brought it briefly to her lips. "But Sachi was there for me throughout. If it hadn't been for her…" she shook her head, not wanting to finish that statement.

"You make a lovely couple," Saionji-obaasama," whispered to the two of them with a soft, gentle smile as she added her own hand to the two much younger ones that were still clasped in front of her. "I'm glad that you have each other. Never forget the love that you share for one another."

"We won't obaa-sama," Sachiko said with loving smile for her partner. "That's a promise."

"Good," the grey-haired woman nodded, as if that was all she needed. Then, "are you going to sing for me again, my little angel?" she asked Yumi with a pouting, teasing smile.

"Of course obaa-sama," Yumi returned her smile. Yumi got back to her feet and, without further ado or any introduction, the two walked over to the piano. Sachiko took a seat on the bench while Yumi stood next to her, one hand on her lover's shoulder and in her pure, clear, innocent voice, began to sing.

_Maria-sama no kokoro  
__Sore(h)wa aozora  
__Watashitachi (w)o tsutsumu  
__Hiroi aozora_

(Maria-sama's heart  
It is the blue sky  
We are enfolded  
By the wide blue sky.)

Once again, as she had the first year and again the second year, Sachiko brought the piano in at the beginning of the second verse.

_Maria-sama no kokoro  
__Sore(h)wa asha no ki  
__Watashitachi (w)o mamoru  
__Tsuyoi asha no ki_

(Maria-sama's heart  
It is an oak tree  
We are protected  
By that mighty oak.)

The old woman's eyes had closed, and a smile adorned her lips as her head nodded slowly in time with the music.

_Maria-sama no kokoro  
__Sore(h)wa uguisu  
__Watashitachi to utau  
__mori no uguisu_

(Maria-sama's heart  
It is the _Uguisu_ ("Japanese nightingale")  
We sing with  
The woodland nightingale.)

_Maria-sama no kokoro  
__Sore(h)wa yamayuri  
__Watashitachi mo hoshii  
__Shiroi yamayuri_

(Maria-sama's heart  
It is a mountain-lily  
We too desire  
That white mountain lily.)

_Maria-sama no kokoro  
__Sore(h)wa safaia  
__Watashitachi (w)o kazaru  
__Hikaru safaia_

(Maria-sama's heart  
It is a sapphire  
We are adorned by  
That shining sapphire.)

Once again there were tears in Saionji-obaasama's eyes at the conclusion of Yumi's and Sachi's performance.

"Thank you my dears," she told the girls when they had come to kneel by her once again. "You have made an old woman's heart fill with joy."

"We have a bit of a surprise for you if you do not mind, obaa-sama," Yumi said softly with a grin, piquing the woman's interest. Yumi turned to the crowd and easily found her petite soeur and brother and gave them a nod. "My brother joined us for your celebration this year. He doesn't really play an instrument, but he wanted to honor you with a song if that is acceptable?"

"Of course my dear!" the obaa-sama smiled and gave a nod to the two youngsters joining them.

"Are you really sure about this Yumi," Yuuki asked his sister nervously to which she only smiled comfortingly at him. She then stood and walked over to the piano, taking a seat where Sachi had just been while Touko-chan took up the violin she had brought with her. Sachiko took a seat next to her petite soeur, but kept her hands in her lap as Yumi first stretched and then wiggled her fingers. Touko finished quickly fine-tuning her instrument and then, when the three of them were ready, Yumi placed her fingers on the ivory keys and with a nod of direction to her own petite soeur the two began to play. After a moment, Yuuki's soft but firm tenor voice joined the two instruments in a song that the old Lillian graduate would know by heart.

_Ave Maria, gratia plena,  
__Dominus, tecum,  
__benedicta tu in mulieribus  
__et benedictus fructus ventris tui Jesus  
__Sancta Maria, Sancta Maria  
__Maria, ora pro nobis nobis peccatoribus,  
__nunc et in hora mortis nostrae.  
__Amen, Amen_

At the first strains of Gounod's _Ave Maria_, Saionji-obaasama's eyes had lit up and her lips had turned up in a smile that had probably not been seen since her much younger days. She had never heard the song sung by a young man, but his voice was just as angelic and sweet as his sister's and she couldn't help but clap softly even as he performed.

Knowing that Yuuki would be joining them for this party, and what would be required of him, the three of them had been practicing whenever they got the chance for over a month. Some of the guests had been surprised when Yumi had taken up the challenge of playing the piano, but their quiet gasps had been quickly silenced by the trio.

It was only after the Chinensis family plus brother had finished that the other party-goers realized that, from the obaa-sama's point of view, every other performance would pale in comparison.

Sachiko gave Yumi an evil grin having finally, after two years, gotten her full revenge on those that had tried to humiliate her love.

-oo-

"Your performance…and timing…was masterful, Sachan," Suguru-kun chuckled as the Roses and Yuuki rejoined their group. He bowed to Sachiko who took his comment as the compliment it was meant to be for how she had shown up her petite soeur's detractors.

"I have my moments," she giggled back behind her hand.

"Those were the same bitches that tried to embarrass Yumi-sama?" Alice asked with a completely innocent face as she looked over at where Yukari Saionji, Kikuyo Ayanokouji, and Kieko Kyogoku were huddled together, their faces showing their anger at having once again been upstaged in front of _their_ crowd.

"I don't think they'll try anything like that again," Touko-chan giggled, casting a quick glance over her shoulder at the three girls arguing. Kikuyo once again stomped her foot and ran from the room crying causing Touko's giggles to turn into full-blown laughter.

"You should have warned me Sachi," Yumi pouted. Only she had been left out of the plan devised by her brother and soeurs to exact their revenge fearing Yumi would have tried to stop them.

"It was for their own good, Yumi love," Sachiko explained with a smile. "Maybe now they'll learn that it's not nice or wise to try to embarrass others. It will always come back to haunt them."

Yumi sighed. "If you say so, onee-sama." She then grinned wickedly. "It was fun, wasn't it?"

The rest of the group laughed along with her.

Yumi then turned to see Alice-san fidgeting and shrugging her shoulders.

"Is everything all right, Alice?" she asked.

"Yes, everything is fine," she replied, "but I think I must excuse myself and find a restroom. My pads seem to be slipping a bit," she said while clandestinely shifting her bra a touch.

Yumi's eyes suddenly got wide, not in shock, or even in embarrassment, but it was as if she had been struck by a lightning bolt."

"Yumi-san?" Alice asked worriedly.

"Alice-san," Yumi said quickly, grabbing onto Alice's arm tightly. "When we get home, if I don't bring it up could you please remind me of this conversation? It's dreadfully important."

"Of – of course, Yumi-san," Alice responded, completely confused at the excitement she saw in Yumi's eyes but willing to hold off asking what had gotten the young woman so agitated. "I'll mark it in my cell phone with an alarm set up for next Monday if that is acceptable to you?"

"That would be wonderful, Alice-san," Yumi grinned at her. "I promise that you'll be more than happy."

"If you say so," Alice grinned back at the brown-eyed girl, still slightly confused but happy that she could bring that kind of a smile to Yumi's face, even if she didn't know what she had done to cause it.

As it turned out, Alice's reminder was unnecessary. Yumi, as soon as she arose the next morning still excited about her idea, used her cell phone to place a call to the office of a particular woman at Lillian Girls' Academy.

-oo-

A/N: The above translation of _Maria's Heart_ is not mine, needless to say. It came from a religious website (Aristasian) that, surprisingly, had a link to a Youtxxx video that was an audio-only version of Yumi singing the song in the anime!


	10. Chapter 10

If Yumi thought she was busy before the Foundation's party it was nothing compared to what she faced upon her return to Musashino. She and Sachiko had stayed up at the Ogasawara summer house both Friday and most of Saturday morning despite Yumi's desire to get back and start working on her new project. Sachiko had rightfully pointed out that her girlfriend was still recovering from her pre-party schedule and insisted that she rest for at least another day before jumping back into the fray. That hadn't kept Yumi off the phone periodically as she made one call after another or answered calls from those she had spoken to. Still, they were able to spend enough hours relaxing on the porch, walking in the woods, or simply laying together on the bed in their room that the younger woman was able to calm herself sufficiently to get the rest she so sorely needed for the trials to come.

As soon as they got back to their apartment on Saturday evening the brown haired girl called an emergency meeting of the Foundation's volunteers to explain her wishes. Hiromi slapped himself in the forehead for not thinking of it himself and immediately called Inoue-sensei to join them the next day at Mama Cho's for lunch. She, in turn, after hearing their thoughts, placed a call to her father who agreed to meet with them at RMII the following afternoon. By the time he arrived the meeting room had been cleaned, the tea brewed and finger sandwiches prepared by Rei. She, Youko, and Yoshino had traveled from Todai just for the purpose of attending the meeting with Youko acting as the Foundation's legal counsel. She still had numerous classes left to take, but she had more than enough knowledge to suffice for their needs. What information she didn't already know she could easily obtain with her own set of contacts.

Upon hearing Yumi's impassioned plea, Isao Inoue furrowed his brow and stroked the wiry whiskers on his chin in thought. He leaned back in his chair, not to distance himself from the group sitting around the table in front of him, but to look up at the white ceiling above his head as if to have a blank page upon which he could form his thoughts.

"Let me get this straight Fukuzawa-sama," he said softly, still looking up.

"Please, Inoue-sama, just call me 'Yumi'," the brown-eyed girl smiled.

"Then, Yumi-sama," he went on, his thoughts only partially on those surrounding him, "you want Inoue Pharmaceuticals to mass-produce the 'toys' that we created for Hiromi-san's use so that you can provide them free of charge to women who have lost their own breasts to cancer."

"They may be 'toys' to you, Inoue-sama," Yumi said softly, pouring every ounce of emotion she could into her words, "but to many women those 'toys' could be the difference between simply existing and truly living; for some, maybe even the difference between life and death. For a man, a woman's breasts are both things of beauty as well as objects of sensuality, but they are also a defining trait. Only women have breasts and for many it is those same breasts that make them a woman. The loss of those breasts is the same as a man losing his penis. It's psychological, and personal, but it's also societal. Many people see a woman without breasts as something less than a woman. How much more so for the woman herself? What of the woman who was born, raised, married, gave birth, and suckled her children at her breast only to cruelly have them taken from her as a result of a horrible disease over which she has no control? How many women have died from that disease rather than lose what to them is a defining part of being female? How many have died at their own hands afterwards? To some they are simply lumps of fat and tissue, but to others they are so much a part of who they are that their loss is tantamount to death itself. If we can save just one life; if we can give just one woman back her self-esteem…your 'toys' are a miracle," she exclaimed. "They let a woman feel the touch of her lover's hands. They let her lover feel her warmth of her skin and the beat of her racing heart. It is as if she once again has what she had lost, not only physically, but psychologically as well as emotionally. With your 'toys'…with those breasts, she is a woman again!"

Isao let his head fall forward so that he could look into the passionate brown eyes in front of him…and he smiled.

"You don't have to convince me Yumi-sama," he said softly. "I've known all along what it was that we had and what it could mean."

"Then," Yumi started getting excited.

"But," Isao held up a finger to stem her jubilation. "But, I also have a duty to my company, its stockholders, and the patients that benefit from our other products. I've already run the numbers, many times, believe me, and without some kind of long-term funding or cost reduction it is just not economically feasible. Don't you think I'd have been turning them out by the thousands already if I could?" He shrugged his shoulders. "When our researchers, completely by accident mind you, created the substance that forms the breasts I could already see exactly what you do, Yumi-sama, but when they told me how much it would cost to produce it in large quantities…" he shook his head. "We only had enough from that first batch to make Hiromi-san's breasts along with a few others for testing. In order to make them commercially viable I'd have to charge millions of yen per pair, and they only last about ten years before they need to be replaced. With that kind of price-tag they would only be options for the very rich…'toys' as it were." Isao sighed and his shoulders slumped in resignation. "I wish…" he started to say but then fell silent, deep in his own thoughts again.

He wasn't the only one, but Yumi's thoughts weren't all that deep, nor were they slow. Her mind understood everything he had told her. She fully understood the economics of the situation, but her heart refused to simply give up in the face of such harsh statistics. She had instead focused on the few words that still gave her hope. She knew that the Rose Foundation could not support the kind of funding he was taking about, however…

"What if I were able to find you that expense relief?" she asked softly, her mind still awhirl with possibilities. "What if I were able to provide you with sufficient subsidies, or concessions, to make it economically viable to produce the breasts commercially so that they would be available to a sufficient customer base to support _our_ needs?"

Her voice as she spoke had grown in both volume and confidence, and when she said "our needs" he understood that to mean not just the Foundation's, nor women in general, but that he was included in that group. He understood that she had felt his true desires and would support them with everything she had.

"Yumi-sama," he said just above a whisper, almost afraid that his own dreams would shatter if he spoke the words out loud, "if you could…if you could do something like that I'd put you on the Board of Directors, I'd make you a vice-president of the company, hell, I'd adopt you!" he grinned.

Yumi laughed. "Don't forget, Inoue-sama, I'm still just a first-year university student, and my parents might have something to say about an adoption," she giggled, but then she got serious again and looked him straight in the eyes. "I can't promise anything except that I'll do everything in my power to make this work. With that promise, will you help me?"

He looked into the deep brown eyes sitting across the table from him and, maybe for the first time in his life, believed that maybe miracles really could happen.

"Yes Yumi-sama," he smiled. "I'll help you."

"Good," Yumi nodded sharply then turned to her right. "Onee-sama?"

"I'll call my father," Sachiko said quickly, pulling out her phone while Yumi turned to her left.

"Youko-sama?"

"I'm on it," the black haired woman grinned, pulling out her own cell phone.

All she had to do was to look at Sei-sama before the blonde grinned and pulled out her phone to start making calls.

Isao watched as everyone seemed to start moving at once while Yumi sat back and steepled her hands beneath her chin, nodding slightly as she mentally worked her way through the problem that had stifled him for over three years. And for the first time in those three years, he saw a sliver of hope.

-oo-

The next few weeks and months passed swiftly. The apartment complex next door to RMII hadn't needed as much work as they had thought and, with an extra push from Suguru's construction company, the subsidized dormitory opened early, just before the start of the fall semester, housing thirty Lillian and Hanadera students along with a nun to act as dorm mother. Sister Mary Elise, an extremely short but fiery friend of Inoue-sensei had taken on the responsibility of watching over the students and from the sounds of all the screaming and laugher coming from within the refurbished building everyone knew without a doubt that it was going to be interesting and fun living next to their new neighbors.

The clinic had also opened even earlier than expected. Touko-chan and Yuuki-kun had done wonders obtaining donations from the equipment suppliers and Suguru's construction company had completed the necessary buildout of the old storefront in only a couple of weeks. The young Edagawa-sensei had contacted the Foundation via email even before he had gone to bed the night of Saionji-obaasama's party. He also brought along with him his Orthopedics and Sports Medicine mentor, Kokubunji-sensei, who had found the idea of working with the Rose Foundation to his liking. He, in turn, had brought along another Family Practice physician, Jogo-sensei, along with his psychiatrist wife to the roster of doctors willing to work a few hours each week for free. With that kind and level of staffing they were assured of sufficient coverage to provide at least twelve hours of medical and psychological services per day, seven days a week.

With the help of Youko, Rei, and Yoshino they found an old day-care center near Tokyo University Medical Center that could be used by the parents of patients wanting to visit their sick children but needing babysitting services in order to do so. Hiromi also worked out a deal with a cab company and the local train companies to provide reduced fares for some of the poorer parents needing transportation to and from the hospital.

By far the easiest as well as the hardest negotiations had been between Yumi, Inoue Pharmaceuticals, and certain obstreperous members of the Diet. It had finally taken a call from Tooru to an old college buddy of his who was now the current Prime Minister, along with a call to his distant but much loved cousin, the Emperor, to obtain the special tax relief necessary for the pharmaceutical company. The money it saved by not having to pay taxes on commercial sales, along with a bill passed in the Diet specifically providing that the new prosthetic breasts would be covered by insurance policies, allowed Inoue Pharmaceuticals to plow every yen back into manufacturing additional product that they could then provide free of charge to the Foundation.

And throughout it all the only time-off Yumi took from her Foundation work or her studies was on Thursday afternoons when she would board a westbound bus for her regular weekly rendezvous. It was the only time she ever took for just herself and Sachiko could never begrudge her that time knowing how important it was to the woman she loved. Even if, as the weeks and months passed, Yumi returned late in the evenings increasingly distraught; even if she more frequently cried herself to sleep, the raven haired woman knew that she could do or say nothing. All she could do was be there for her love when she needed her.

It was after one such evening at the beginning of the winter holidays, on an afternoon when they had all sat around a table at Mama Cho's, that Yumi made a request of her grande soeurs. As one Youko, Sei, and Eriko each pulled out their cell phones and touched a speed-dial number on the keypad. Almost simultaneously, the three said the same exact words: "Onee-sama, I have a favor to ask."


	11. Chapter 11

Almost three hundred people, more than two-thirds of them woman, sat speaking quietly in the auditorium at Lillian Girls' Academy the day before Christmas. In one way it was the ultimate reunion. Each and every woman had, in her own time at the school, been a Rose. Ranging in age from twenty-two to eighty-nine, the women in the audience greeted each other as sisters and family members. Whether Rosa Chinensis, Rosa Gigantea, or Rosa Foetida, they had all shared the responsibilities and privileges, the history and the memories, of having been an important part of the school that had taught them, raised them and, in many ways, made them who they were.

Some greeted the grande soeurs that they had just seen the previous day. Others greeted the big sisters that they had not seen in many years. A few entered the large facility hand-in-hand, having awoken next to each other that very morning while a few shed tears of forgiveness as they mended breaks in relationships decades old.

Of course, some of the previous Roses had passed away at some point during their lives, whether from age, illness, or accident, but this sunny Thursday afternoon over seventy years – seventy generations – of Roses gathered together in an unprecedented spectacle.

As for the men, many of them were the husbands of those same former Roses. But they also had another thing in common. They were all former Hanadera student council presidents.

Not to be outdone by his "little" sister, Yuuki, with the assistance of Suguru, had begun making calls to their predecessors just as Youko, Eriko, and Sei had picked up the phone to call their onee-samas. The resulting male attendees ranged in age from Yuuki's nineteen to an older gentleman of the ripe old age of ninety-one. His wife, the eighty-nine year old former Rosa Foetida, sat in the seat next to him holding his hand and every so often giving him a look that every sixteen year old girl would have recognized on sight as pure and adoring love. Even after more than sixty-five years of marriage these two former high school sweethearts were still in deep and abiding love with one another. In other words…

Tsutako was in heaven! Hiromi was afraid that the motor in her camera was going to burn out she was snapping so many pictures. His fiancée actually had two cameras hung around her neck this afternoon: one digital SLR camera with a 64GB memory card (along with extra cards in her pocket) and an old fashioned Pentax K1000 35mm SLR camera "just in case." He had no clue what might necessitate the need for the older film camera but he had learned long ago never to question Tsutako's muse.

Yumi was nervous. She stood in the wings, wringing her hands and waiting for the rear doors to close. That would be the signal for her to step out onto that stage in front of all of those former Roses. She could feel the sweat rolling down her back. She wiped a damp, clammy hand over her brow to brush away the droplets of perspiration she felt building there. Before she could grasp her hands again one hand was captured and a gentle kiss applied to the sweaty palm.

"Calm down, Yumi. It will be all right. You'll do wonderfully," Sachiko told her with a soft smile. "You've been in front of more than this many people in the past. Remember your graduation speech? It was one of the proudest moments of my life to sit there and watch you. You had each and every one of those people riveted and on the edge of their seats. You had them eating out of your hands with your passion. Today is nothing more, except I expect that you will be even more passionate about today's topic. And don't forget, Hiromi and I will be right there on stage behind you. All you have to do is turn around and we will be there for you."

Yumi could feel her nervousness slipping away with the cool confidence her onee-sama had in her.

"Thank you, Sachi," Yumi whispered, bringing her lover's hand to her lips for a brief kiss. "You always know when I need you and exactly what to say."

They heard the back doors close and the lights over the audience dimmed while those over the stage were brought up. Sachiko leaned over and gave Yumi one last kiss for luck.

Out of the wings on the other side of the stage an older woman, slender and still physically fit with a regal bearing, walked out to center stage. She wore a smart, dark blue business suit with matching heels, the hem of her pencil skirt ending just past her knees. Her long, raven black hair had been pulled up into a bun behind her head held there by two ornamental chopsticks that had been a gift from her daughter's life partner. She wore little makeup, but her own natural beauty shone through to everyone in the audience.

"Good day everyone," she spoke with a soft and friendly, but commanding voice that caught the attention of the audience and stilled the small conversations that had been going on. "For those of you who do not know me, my name is Ogasawara Sayako and I have been given the very great honor of being chosen as the new Director of Lillian Girls' Academy." A small smattering of applause greeted these words. Sayako acknowledged the show of support with a nod, but quickly began speaking again. "Today, however, I have come here not as the Academy Director, but as a former Rosa Chinensis, a proud member of the Yamayurikai…one of you," she smiled.

"Today, I have the even greater honor of introducing to you one of my great-grand sisters. Although she is still very young she has taken on a role that many of us would shy away from. Two years ago my daughter Sachiko and a young man by the name of Hiromi Takeda founded an organization to provide support to talented artists wishing to continue their learning here at Lillian. With the passing of our dearly beloved Tamura Kaori-sensei that small foundation was blessed with assets sufficient to provide additional scholarships, a subsidized dormitory residence, and a medical clinic to provide services to Lillian, Hanadera, and the community that supports us.

"The leader of The Rose Foundation is a young woman that has a very great vision. Her many accomplishments have earned the support of the students, the school, the community, and many of the industry and political leaders seated among you today. More importantly, at least as far as I am concerned," she went on with a grin, "she has more than earned my trust and respect and that of my husband, Tooru, as well. We are both extremely proud to call her 'daughter.'

"Today she has asked all of us to gather here to listen to her words and to open your hearts to what today's Roses have, and may yet, become. It is with the greatest honor that I introduce to you Fukuzawa Yumi-san, Director of the Rose Foundation."

With a deep breath and a couple of punches to her shoulders to loosen up the muscles Yumi walked out onto that stage followed by Hiromi and Sachiko. She walked to the podium and placed a soft kiss on Sayako-okaasama's cheek, receiving a kiss on her own cheek as well from the woman that had given birth to her onee-sama, her friend, and her love. Just like Sachiko, Sayako briefly lifted her hand and cupped Yumi's cheek, offering her any and all of the strength she had.

Yumi leaned into that hand for a moment before stepping back and allowing Sayako a chance to take a seat next to her daughter. The brown haired woman then stepped up to the podium, placed her hands on top, and did what her onee-sama had always taught her to do.

She spoke from her heart.

"Good day everyone, my name is Fukuzawa Yumi and, as Sayako-sama indicated, I now have the distinct pleasure to act as the Director of the Rose Foundation. We are still a very small organization, just a bouton...a bud," she said with a smile as she held up a hand, her fingers only a few centimeters apart, "but we hope to soon blossom into an organization that you can all be very proud of. I say you," Yumi said as she walked from behind the podium to stand in front of them, "because I am asking all of you here today to open your hearts and join us in our mission."

Tooru Ogasawara, sitting in the center of the first row, grumpily got to his feet and with much show began to reach for his back pocket.

Yumi had to giggle at his antics. "No, Otou-san, not your wallet, your heart," she giggled.

"Oh, well, if that's all," Tooru said loudly, grinning as he sat down again in his chair to much laughter from the audience.

"Yes," Yumi went on with a smile, "it is not your wallets that we ask you to open, but your hearts. As Sayako-okaasama has already told you the Rose Foundation has already begun expanding from those two, simple art scholarships at Lillian. Today we offer over a dozen scholarships to deserving students at both Lillian and Hanadera. We house more than thirty needy Lillian and Hanadera students at our dorm. We offer low cost and free medical and psychological services to both students and the community surrounding our wonderful schools. We provide daycare services to parents with sick children so that they can visit their loved ones in the hospital when they cannot get babysitters to watch their youngsters. We provide ride services to those parents that do not have any other means of transportation to get to those daycare facilities or to the hospital.

"We provide cancer awareness seminars to both boys and girls, men and women, so that they can be more aware of their bodies and the symptoms that might precede an onslaught of breast, ovarian, uterine, or prostate cancer. We teach the warning signs of skin cancers and leukemia. Oh, there are so many things that we do today that we could never have dreamed of before.

"But there are also so many things that we can yet do if we are just given the chance. Ladies, if you would," she called out to the rear of the theatre.

The current and former members of the Yamayurikai – Youko and Touko; Sei, Shimako, Noriko and Yukiko; Eriko, Rei, Yoshino, and Nana – began making their way down the aisles each with a box in hand. They passed their boxes down each row of seats, from one person to another, collecting the box on the other side and then moving down two rows to start the process all over again.

"In those boxes, as those of you in the rear have seen, are breasts. Well, fake breasts to be precise, but breasts nonetheless. I have it on very good authority," Hiromi coughed noisily from where he sat behind her, "that these breasts, when properly applied, look and feel just like the real thing. Yes, I've felt them before," Yumi giggled as people in the audience began to ooh and aah over the articles being passed around, "and I could not tell the difference…except in size in my case," she chuckled, placing a hand over her breast, eliciting more laughter from the audience. "More importantly though," she went on, "these breasts feel _absolutely real_ to the woman that wears them.

"Think about that for a moment. A woman, young or old, that has had to undergo the loss of one or both of her breasts as a result of a mastectomy. Each and every morning she arises from her bed to stare at herself in the mirror, wondering if she will ever be a true woman again. You and I both know that it is not breasts that make a woman, but to that woman that has lost her breasts…it is as if she had lost herself.

"Now, think of that same woman, getting up in the morning and looking in that mirror to see, not a cavernous chest full of scars, but these breasts. She knows that their not real, but she can touch them and feel the sensation of her fingers on her chest. She can squeeze her nipple and she can feel the twinge of both pleasure and pain. She can put her palm against them and feel not only the body heat radiating from them, but her own heartbeat, proving to herself that she is still alive, and well, and beautiful."

"How much would she have to pay to have her breasts, and her self-esteem as a woman, back again? If I have my way, not one single yen," Yumi explained.

One woman in the middle of the theatre gave out a yell.

"Oh my! Oh my God! She's telling the truth!" the woman exclaimed. The woman had slipped one of the breasts from Inoue-sensei's family's pharmaceutical company inside her own blouse and she sat in her seat squeezing it through her shirt. A roughly breast shaped lump of tan fabric covered sponge rubber sat in her lap. Yumi could see a tear in Shimako's eyes as she watched the woman with a large smile. A quick, slashing hand movement across her chest from the former Rosa Gigantea indicated to Yumi that the older woman had most likely had a radical mastectomy from a time, not so long ago, when doctors would cut first and ask questions later. It was only recently that lumpectomies had become much more prevalent.

"Keep them, please," Yumi said to the woman as she watched her cry tears of joy. "If you come up after we're through, Hiromi-kun will show you how to wear them so that you can't tell that they are fake. Not only that, but you could boogie all night long without fear," Yumi grinned. The huge smile on the woman's face as she nodded was all Yumi needed to see.

"This is just one of the many things that the Rose Foundation would like to offer to cancer patients. But…"

"YUMI-SAMA!" The shout came from a little girl of about seven as she ran quickly down the aisle towards the stage.

"Hi-Himechi?" Yumi stammered as her legs nearly gave way. She quickly sat on the apron of the stage as the young girl launched herself through the air and into her arms. "Himechi! What are you doing here? Don't you have therapy this afternoon?" Yumi asked in shock.

"I don't have to go through therapy anymore, Yumi-sama!" the young girl squealed happily while clapping her hands after climbing into Yumi's lap.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Yumi stuttered, unable to understand. "Why are you here?"

"The nice man brought me," the bald headed girl said with glee as she pointed to the rear of the auditorium.

In the back of the auditorium, standing by one of the doors, Tsutako snapping off shot after shot of him with her older camera, was an old man dressed in the sandals, worn baggy pants and the large, stained brown shirt of a rice farmer. His worn face was roughened by age and harsh weather and his hands were lined with wrinkles and spots. But his bright golden eyes, as bright as the sun, shown forth with not only life, but love and caring and kindness as well. He tipped his wide brimmed hat to her and gave her a smile that told Yumi that all would be well.

In the meantime, Sakura had walked down the aisle and joined them at the edge of the stage, a tender smile on her lips as she reached out and took one of Himechi's small hands within her own.

"We flew, Yumi-sama!" the young leukemia patient exclaimed excitedly. "You know how I always said I wanted to fly? Well, the kind man brought me here through the air! We flew like birds!"

"S-Sakura?" Yumi gasped.

"It was quicker and easier than taking a taxi," the old kodama explained with a sad smile. "And she has always wanted to fly so badly. She's prayed so long and so hard. It wasn't a hard thing to do and it gave her so much joy."

"She's…her therapy…"

"She won't need it anymore after today," Sakura said with a tiny smile as she looked deeply into Yumi's eyes, willing her to understand.

"Not. After. Today," Yumi whispered hoarsely, her breath catching deep in her throat. She turned to look at the bright, happy child sitting in her lap. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks as she finally understood what was going to happen.

"Don't worry Yumi-sama," Sakura said softly with a nod towards the old man in the back of the room. "Inari and I will see that she gets to where she needs to go. She'll be well taken care of."

Yumi gave a nod and wiped her eyes, pulling Himechi into a tight hug before surrendering her to Sakura's tender care.

"Thank you for everything Yumi-sama. I'm going to go live in heaven with my Grandma and Grandpa now," the young girl said with a soft smile, "but I'll always remember you."

"I'll…I'll always remember you as well, Himechi," Yumi said as she patted the girl's head. "You know I'll always love you."

"I love you too Yumi-sama," Himechi said softly, leaning forward and placing a quick kiss on Yumi's cheek before waving goodbye as Sakura walked back up the aisle with the child in her arms.

The old man gave Yumi another smile and a nod, promising that all would be well as he took the child from Sakura's arms. With one last wave and a blown kiss from the pretty little girl the two left the building once more, stepping into a light brighter and whiter than the sun could ever produce. Yumi could almost make out trees and a wide lake within the blinding light along with a small group of people rushing to greet the pair before the door closed, blocking the image from her sight.

The audience had been silent throughout the entire scene. Yumi looked up into Sachiko's eyes as her onee-sama sat down and joined her on the apron of the stage. The two women embraced tightly as Yumi cried, her heart-wrenching sobs echoing throughout the silent auditorium. Touko came quickly up the aisle and put a hand on her knee as Yuuki, coming from the shadows of the wings, took hold of her hand, willing her whatever strength he had to give.

It took a few more moments, moments that the audience seemed perfectly willing to give her, before she pulled herself together enough to turn and faced them, surrounded by those she loved.

"Ev-Everyone," she cleared her throat of the tears that still threatened, "Th-that young girl's name is Himechi. She has leukemia and has been my dinner partner every Thursday evening for most of the past year. We met when we were in therapy together. She is a bright and shining star, a lovely flower just waiting to bloom. You will never meet a sweeter, kinder, gentler soul than hers…and by the time you get back to your homes tonight she will have died. She has been fighting her disease for the last three years, but…but I guess…it was a fight that she wasn't d-destined to win," she wept.

"I want your help…no…I _need_ your help. I don't want there to be any more Himechi's," she sobbed, "I don't want there to be any more Aois, or Azumis, or Akiras, or Chinatsus, or Emikos, or Hikarus, or Izumis, or Kaedes, or Yumikos, or, or…oh, the list goes on and on and I simply _don't want there to be any more!_" she cried out burying her face in her hands once more.

Sachiko tightened her arms around Yumi and pulled her head onto her shoulder until she had recovered once more.

"Everyone," she spoke up again as she wiped her eyes, "I'm not asking for your money. I'm not even asking for much of your time. I'm simply asking, as sisters and brothers, as family, that you please be there when we call…when we need you…so that maybe we can, sometime in the not too distant future, ensure that there will never again be a need to lose a bright and shining star like Himechi.

"Please…I beg of you."

-oo-

"Well," Hiromi told the red and puffy eyed Yumi after everyone in the audience had left, "you may not have asked them to open their wallets, but they did. We have checks so far totaling over two hundred and fifty million yen and it's still being counted. And each and every one of them signed on as ancillary members of The Rose Foundation promising that they will do whatever you ask of them. All you need to do is call."

"Thank you Hiromi," Yumi said softly as she wiped her eyes once more.

They all sat together on a couch in one of the changing rooms in the back of the theatre. Touko had gone to get them some drinks while Sayako and Tooru spoke quietly to the other members of the Yamayurikai. Everyone had come over to her where she sat at one time or another since the meeting had broken up. They all wanted to somehow console their friend and sister, but there was nothing they could do and they knew it. It would simply take time. Knowing that Himechi was going to be with her grandparents, that her soul would be at peace, was more than Yumi could have hoped for. She had already understood that no miracle was going to come along to save the young girl's life. It had been known even on the day they first met that Himechi would one day pass on, a victim of the disease raging through her body. The young child had accepted it much more easily than Yumi ever could. Yumi had hoped and prayed for that miracle every day, but even then she knew that she was asking too much.

So she had met with the young girl in her hospital room every Thursday evening for dinner and games or to simply watch TV for a few hours. That was why she was so touchy and fragile, and why Sachiko was always so careful and solicitous of her when she arrived back home late on Thursday nights.

Sachiko had often offered to go with her to the hospital, but Yumi had always demurred. It was her special time with Himechi and she didn't want anyone or anything to interrupt it. Sachiko had never taken Yumi's refusal to heart. She understood that this was something that only the two of them, Yumi and Himechi, could share. So she had simply done all she could to help her partner on those long, painful nights, doing what she could to comfort her knowing in her heart that there was nothing else she could do. And Yumi loved her for it.

"We also received almost a dozen requests for more information on Inoue-sensei's breasts…I mean her family's company's breasts!" he explained quickly with a bright blush of embarrassment. His discomfiture brought a small smile to Yumi's lips which she knew he had been trying hard to accomplish.

"Thank you Hiromi-kun. I don't think I could have gotten through this without you. Without all of you," she told everyone standing in the room, looking from one concerned face to another. "You have all been so kind and helpful. You can't know how much your support means to me. You are more than friends, more than grande or petite soeurs or frères. You are my family, and I love you so very, very much."

The words were spoken ever so softly, but heard by every heart in the room. They all moved to gather once more around the girl that had brought them all together and made them more of a family than they could ever have imagined.

Miki, who had never been a Rose but knew where she needed to be when her daughter needed her, left her husband's side and moved to sit beside Yumi and take her into her arms. Just as she had for the past eighteen years whenever her daughter needed her.

Sometimes you just need your mother.

-oo-

A/N: In case you hadn't noticed I try not to put too many author's notes in my stories. I'd rather let the stories themselves say what I want to be heard. In this case, however, you simply can't imagine how much I wish that parts of this story were not fiction. Needless to say the miracle breasts are fictitious and have no basis in reality. I truly wish that they did. There are, however, many fine organizations like The Rose Foundation out there, somewhere, simply trying to help others as best they can. Any support that you can give them I'm sure would be greatly appreciated.


	12. Chapter 12

A hacking cough resounded throughout the bedroom that Yumi and Sachiko shared. Yumi had spent the last three weeks running on willpower alone. With everything she'd had to do, with every meeting that she'd had to attend, with every bureaucrat or politician she'd had to argue with, with the classes she'd attended and every end of term exam she'd had to study for, the first thing that had disappeared from her schedule was sleep. The second casualty had been healthy meals as she grabbed a bite here or there just to keep going during the day before crashing for only a few hours each night just to start the whole thing over again far too early the next morning. It was no wonder that once she let her guard down after the previous day's meeting with all of the former Roses that her body finally betrayed her.

Another round of coughing wracked her chest and lungs and she grabbed a tissue so that she could properly cover her mouth. When she was finally through that bout she quickly wadded it up and dropped the tissue in the trashcan that sat next to her bed. She hadn't opened her eyes for fear that she'd see blood on the flimsy paper. She knew that she'd once again pushed herself too hard for too long. She hoped that Sachiko would eventually forgive her for breaking her promise.

She was alone in the bedroom since Sachi was out trying to track down an open pharmacy so that she could fill the prescriptions that Watanabe-sensei had given to her for her cough and fever. She knew that she was lucky that the doctor was a Buddhist and didn't formally celebrate Christmas although he was scheduled to attend a Yule party later in the afternoon. The good doctor had once again admonished her to take better care of herself, but considering all that she had accomplished in such a short period of time he was willing to overlook certain aspects of her overworking herself. He did tell her that she had to take the rest of the winter holiday season to rest and relax and that she should concentrate on her studies for a while rather than on the needs of the Foundation. With Sachiko as his witness he had made her solemnly promise to take better care of herself. It was more the concerned and fearful look on her lover's face than the doctor's diagnosis of pneumonia that forced her to make that promise and it was her plan to follow that advice to the letter.

"Yumi?" she heard Tsutako's voice call out to her from the living room.

"In here Tsutako," she called back, or at least tried to since just the attempt sent her into another coughing fit. Tsutako followed the sound of the coughing and came through the bedroom door holding a tray with a steaming bowl on it. A scowl briefly crossed her face before she sighed and continued into the room, setting the tray on the nightstand.

Yumi dropped another tissue in the wastebasket after wiping her lips, her eyes shut until she heard the soft plop. Tsutako picked the can up and gave it a cursory glance.

"No pink," she smiled, happy to hear Yumi's sigh of relief. "I brought you some soup. I thought that even if it didn't help it couldn't hurt."

"Thank you Tsutako," Yumi grinned, sniffing the wonderful smelling broth. "You're too good to me. I'm sorry to make you do all this."

"It's not a problem," the young woman smiled down at her, her rimless glasses reflecting the image of the sick girl. She reached down to pull the covers up around the brown-eyed girl's chin and smooth them out a bit. "I'm actually surprised you lasted as long as you did. You had to have been running on fumes the last few weeks. Sachiko's been really worried about you although she did her best to try not to show it knowing how important everything was to you," she gently chided Yumi.

"I know. She may be able to hide her emotions from some people, but I learned long ago how to read her needs and wants," Yumi sighed. "I need to make it up to her." She fingered the necklace and locket that she wore around her neck, Sachi's Christmas gift to her the previous night. Sachiko had one exactly like it. They'd had a good laugh when they realized that Yumi had gotten Sachi's gift based on Sayako's recommendation while Sachiko had purchased the one for Yumi at Miki's suggestion. It was obvious that the two women had conspired to ensure that Yumi and Sachiko gave each other almost the exact same gift: a necklace and locket that featured a half heart (Yumi had the right half and Sachiko the left). When fitted together the engraving on the two lockets spelled out "Love." Yumi's contained a picture of Sachiko while Sachi's contained a picture of Yumi. Both photos had been taken by the girl that was currently standing over her.

"You can make it up to her by getting better quickly…and not doing anything stupid like this again."

"Yes ojou-sama," Yumi grinned. "I hear and obe…" that's as far as she got before she started coughing again. Tsutako helped her to sit up and patted her gently on the back until the fit finally completed its torture of her aching lungs and stomach muscles. This time she took a glance at the tissue. Tsutako was right…no pink!

Yumi was only able to finish about half of the soup that Tsutako had brought before she fell asleep. The dark haired girl pulled the covers up and tucked her in again before taking the tray with its bowl and teacup out to the kitchen to wash them thoroughly before drying them. She had hung the hand towel up to dry when Sachiko came bursting through the front door out of breath with a pharmacy bag in her hand.

"Yumi!" she gasped out, trying to yell out her love's name but unable to catch her breath.

"She's fine Sachiko-san," Tsutako said, going swiftly to the young woman and directing her to a seat on the couch, "she's just fallen back asleep. I doubt she'll sleep long with that cough of hers, but she needs to get whatever rest she can."

"Tsu-Tsutako-san?" Sachi panted.

"And it won't do her any good for you to worry yourself sick either," the glasses-girl admonished her senior softly.

"I know," Sachi sighed, finally gathering her wits about her. "It's just that we had such a long day yesterday and she's been working herself so hard for everyone. It…it frightens me when she does this to herself," she admitted quietly.

"But she loves it as well," Tsutako pointed out. "I know she works herself too hard sometimes, but it's because she loves what she's doing. I truly think that she would be lost if she didn't have someone to take care of, and by being the Director of the Foundation she's able to care for and help so many people. I swear that if she didn't also love architecture so much she'd probably be happy just doing this job for the rest of her life."

Sachiko had to smile at the thought of just how right Tsutako-san was about her petite soeur and love. "Did she tell you about the end of term project she turned in?" At Tsutako's head shake Sachi got up and went into the study, emerging shortly thereafter with a large roll of papers in her hand. She walked to the dining room table and spread them out, placing salt and pepper shakers on each end so that they would lay flat. As she had expected, Tsutako gasped at what had been presented for her perusal.

The top sheet was Yumi's artist's rendition of the front and left side of a multi-storied building. It blended both modern and gothic architectural styles in such a way as to be not only functional, but beautiful as well. Most of the gothic styling was in the large, two story arched windows with stained glass at each peak; each one depicting a different scene from a different historical period. Through each window Tsutako could see row after row of shelving filled with books.

"It's a library," she said softly, her voice filled with wonder.

"Not only did her instructor give her an 'A' for the project," Sachi said with a touch of pride for her love, "he made full color copies and entered her design in a competition that the Minato ward's government was holding relative to a new library they plan to build. They didn't select her design for this project – I mean, she is only a first-year university student – but she received an Honorable Mention and they asked if they could keep it for possible use on a future project in a different location."

"They'd have been foolish not to," Tsutako nodded. "It's gorgeous."

Sachi reluctantly re-rolled the blueprints and returned them to their place in the study before walking back out and into the kitchen. With a lift of the pot she asked if Tsutako wanted tea. The dark haired girl nodded and followed Sachi into the kitchen area.

"Now you see why I wouldn't dare ask her to give up her dream of becoming an architect to take over the Foundation as a full-time position," Sachiko smiled as she boiled the water. "Think of all the beautiful buildings I'd be condemning to never being built. I know she'd take the job if I asked her to, but I just can't bring myself to do it."

"I can see why," Tsutako grinned. "She's inherited her father's talent."

"And will surpass him if I don't miss my guess," Sachiko returned her friend's smile as she poured out two cups of green tea and set one on the counter in front of Tsutako.

"Did the doctor say how long she'd be stuck in bed?" Tsutako asked.

"No. It depends on how quickly she can get over the pneumonia. At least a few days."

"At least Yumi will have you here to help take care of her; that is if you don't spend every moment ravishing her while she can't fight back," Tsutako giggled.

"You've been spending too much time around Sei," Sachi chuckled, for once not blushing at a reference that included her, Yumi, and sex.

"What can I say, we're on the same art track," Tsutako laughed.

"I'd…" Sachiko began but then simply grabbed the bag of medicine from the counter and walked quickly toward the bedroom just before Tsutako heard a hacking cough.

For some reason it didn't even occur to her that Sachiko had begun moving _before_ the first sound came from the room where Yumi lay sick. Before leaving she washed her cup, made another pot of tea and set it to stay warm but not boil so that it would be available when Sachiko needed it. She even got out the honey and set it on the counter near the stove.

"Take care of her," she whispered to the empty room as she quietly left.

-oo-

Suguru bit back on the sigh that would have escaped his lips if he hadn't already been consciously trying to maintain some form of proper manners and attitude. He could hear his father's voice in the back of his mind castigating him: _Kashiwagi men do not sigh!_

That may be so, but his father didn't have an extremely good looking and sexy guy bending over doing filing in his office while wearing a skirt that was just a little too long to do more than flash a minute glimpse of pale pink lace when he…_no _she_, dammit!_…went to put a file in the second lowest drawer of the file cabinet. There were moments when he would have sworn that Alice knew just exactly when and where he was looking, exactly how far she could bend over so as to tease him to the greatest extent, and just exactly what all that teasing was doing to him; both mentally as well as physically.

Nor would his father have been this confused over the feelings and emotions that the girl brought out in him. Well, to be honest he probably would be confused – there was no way anyone, gay or straight, would not react to the way Alice was teasing him – but not for any of the same reasons.

Suguru had known that he was gay since he was thirteen. While all his friends had been sneaking porn magazines full of half-nude women into their bedrooms, he'd been sneaking peeks at those same friends as they changed for PE or washed off the sweat and grime in the school showers. Now, at twenty-one years of age, he'd done a lot more than simply look. At first everyone he'd been interested in was just your typical muscled (and muscle-headed) jock. Those tastes had changed as soon as he'd met Yuuki Fukuzawa.

It had surprised him a bit that he was so attracted to the much smaller and slightly effeminate looking young man. It was the first time he'd ever been interested in a boy that wasn't totally masculine in body structure. He'd eventually given up on attaining the young Fukuzawa when Yuuki had started dating his cousin Touko-chan. Still, his taste in men had been permanently altered by that charming and cute young man.

By that time he'd already met and recruited first-year student Kintarou Arisugawa to be the Secretary of the Hanadera Student Council. He'd figured that the completely effeminate "Alice" was gay or at least bisexual. He'd never even considered that he might be transgendered until he heard about how he'd broken down and confessed in front of not only Yuuki and the Hanadera council, but in front of the Yamayurikai as well…while clinging to Sachan at the time!

In that aspect Yuuki was faster than Suguru in figuring out that the young Alice was trans. In fact Yuuki had figured it out even when Suguru was still a senior in high school. While the older and supposedly wiser, and certainly gayer, Suguru had thought the boy to be gay and treated him as such, it had almost been natural for Yuuki to treat Alice as a girl rather than as a boy. The tall, black haired boy had known Alice had a crush on him at first, but since he'd still only liked the musclemen like Magane-kun he'd made sure not to string him along in any way.

Since he'd become reacquainted with her, however, Alice had become much more mature and accepting of herself. She was so much more confident in who and what she was that it seemed to permeate her entire being. It was as if her expressions, her demeanor, her body language, her entire aura was saying "I am female."

And Suguru found that confidence so damn sexy and alluring and desirable even as it drove him crazy.

Nor was it just Alice's confidence he was reacting to, although that was most of it. His own body was certainly telling him, _emphatically_, that he also found the petite, feminine body just as sexy and desirable. For proof all he needed to do was to look down past the top of the desk behind which he currently sat to the bulge straining at the zipper of his black jeans as a result of Alice's teasing. He didn't look, because it would not only be crass, it would also be obvious to the one doing the teasing.

He tried to force himself to focus on the report in front of him, the same report he'd been trying to read for the last half-hour as Alice did her filing. He hadn't made it past the first paragraph. Each time he took his eyes off of Alice he would remember how beautiful she had looked in her gown at Saionji-obaasama's birthday party during the summer. It was Alice that had mentioned it might be good for Yuuki and Yumi to have some allies at the party. She hadn't said another word, but the thought of inviting her to go with him hadn't made it much past his frontal lobe before the words were out of his mouth asking her if she would like to accompany him. She'd actually taken a moment to think about it before finally agreeing. She'd made it seem as if _she_ was doing _him_ a favor by going with him. And damned if he didn't feel that way as well!

Of course he hadn't allowed those feelings to show on his face, but he couldn't say the same when she'd walked out of her hotel room in that light green and pink dress looking like the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. He was sure his eyes had widened and his jaw had dropped a bit just by the smirk on her face as she twirled for him, the hem of her dress flaring to show shapely calves, cute knees and enticing thighs. He'd recovered quickly but she'd teased him practically the entire evening. And he hadn't minded one bit. It was the first time he'd enjoyed the party in years.

They hadn't gone out on a date since then and Suguru had the feeling that he was the one missing out more so than Alice was. It wasn't a position he often found himself in. He was used to having both men and women fawning on him and almost begging for him to take them to his bed. This was the first time he found himself on the other end of that equation. It was just one more thing that left him confused and frustrated.

And then Alice bent over just that much further and he couldn't control the slightly too loud intake of breath as he finally got a decent if quick look at what was underneath that short skirt.

"Are you all right, Suguru-kun?" Alice asked as she turned around to glance at him with a concerned look that was belied by the spark of mischief in her brown eyes.

"A-Alice…yes, I'm fine. Thank you Alice," he stammered. As she continued to look at him, that sparkle still present, he noticed that the top button of her blouse was open and providing him with a mesmerizing glimpse of smooth, soft skin and another hint of pink lace. He closed his eyes a moment and took a deep breath before he did something he'd never before done in his life. "Alice, would you…would you consent to…join me for a cup of tea at Mama's?"

"Why Suguru! I'd be delighted," she replied with a completely innocent smile of excitement.

"You're going to make me work for this, aren't you Alice?" he sighed.

"Everything in life that is truly worth having is worth working for Suguru," she replied with a grin. "I will never be yours or anyone else's 'conquest.' I'm worth more than that," she told him honestly, still smiling.

"You certainly are, my dear," he smiled back at her. "You certainly are."

-oo-

In deference to Yumi's illness the annual "Girls' Weekend" at the Ogasawara estate was moved to Sachiko's and Yumi's apartment. They still played their games, but instead of running from room to room on the estate they ran from room to room between the apartments and the various rooms in RMII. At least everyone except Sachiko and Yumi did. For the first time in years Sayako-okaasama actually participated in the games that she had devised but which this year Yumi and Sachi ran. The reason for this was obvious but of great import: Miki-okaasama had joined them this year. Sayako and her "fairy" spent just about every moment in each other's company, often hand-in-hand although there was absolutely nothing romantic or sexual in the attraction they felt for each other.

The skinship didn't go unnoticed by anyone and Sei, bless her pointy little head, had the audacity to ask about it. It hadn't taken long, or too much cajoling once the question had been raised, to get the story out of the two women.

"I was a third-year at Lillian while Miki was still a first-year," Sayako started, her eyes focused not on the group or even on the past, but totally and completely on the wide brown eyes that she remembered from so long ago. "She came upon me one day while I was sleeping in the old greenhouse. I was using a book, _The Pillow Book_ ironically enough, as a pillow for my head."

"She looked so beautiful lying there…just like an angel come down from heaven," Miki joined in the telling. "It was lunchtime and I watched her for probably twenty minutes, unable to take my eyes from her. But I knew that the bell would be ringing shortly so I went to awaken her."

"I opened my eyes and beheld a vision. Miki was beautiful and I remember thinking that she looked just like a fairy with all the foliage surrounding her. Then the bell rang and I realized I'd slept through the entire lunch period. I wanted to stay, but I had Yamayurikai duties. I thanked her for waking me and then apologized as I ran off to the Rose Mansion. But I left behind…"

"_The Pillow Book_," Miki finished her statement. "I put it in my bag and went back to my classroom intending to return it to 'my angel' at the end of the day. At that time Sayako was as much of a school idol as her daughter was when she and Yumi were at Lillian."

"As I was leaving class that afternoon," Sayako picked up the story again, "who should show up at my classroom door but my very own fairy."

"I returned the book to her," Miki said, "and she thanked me for saving her from a tongue-lashing from the librarian," Miki laughed. "She then asked if she could do anything for me in return, but I couldn't think of anything at the time. I already knew that she had a petite soeur…"

"So I told her to think about it and come to me when she came up with an idea. I returned the book to the library the next day…"

"Whereupon I immediately checked it out. I didn't know why, but for some reason the thought of some other student checking that book out made me shiver. I knew it was a library book, but I just couldn't seem to bring myself to return it."

"It was early spring and final exams had just been completed. There were so many people asking for autographs from the Roses that it almost became a burden…"

"But a friend of mine came back with Rosa Foetida's autograph and it suddenly occurred to me what I wanted..."

"I was just packing up for the day when who should show up at my classroom door but my little fairy. She had a book in her hand and I recognized it as the same _Pillow Book_ from the library. It was one of a set and had a distinctive cover. When I joined her in the hallway to see if she had thought of something that I could do for her…"

"I jokingly asked if she'd make me her petite soeur…"

"I had to tell her that I already had one…"

"So I presented _The Pillow Book_ to her, mistakenly hoping that she hadn't recognized it, and asked her if she would sign it for me…"

"I really didn't know what to say, but I thought that my fairy surely knew what she was doing, so I signed it just on the inside cover."

"That evening I went to the bookstore and purchased a new copy of the book so that I could return it to the library and keep the one Sayako had autographed for me. I didn't realize that I had purchased a revised edition and that it had a slightly different colored cover until I went to slip it into the appropriate space on the shelves. Still it didn't matter to me. The library had a copy and I had my very own autographed copy."

"And the very next day my petite soeur informed me that she was moving to America and felt that she could no longer be my soeur. She returned my rosary to me and told me that even though it was nearing the end of the year I should try to find another petite soeur to follow in my footsteps. Out of all the first- and second-year students only one came to mind…my precious fairy. But I didn't know her name. I didn't even know what class or grade she was in at the time so I decided not to take another petite soeur."

"I knew that I'd never meet my angel again, so I put the treasured book into a box with all of my other keepsakes. I finished school, graduated, went to college, got married, and eventually had two very precious children…"

"But I never forgot about my fairy. And then, on the day of Sachi's graduation, I happened to meet her once again. I knew who she was now, but I still couldn't bring myself to divulge our previously shared history…"

"Nor could I, even though I immediately recognized my angel. It was simply too surprising. Also, it wasn't my day to celebrate, it was Sachi's. I didn't want to steal even one moment of that from her. So I kept my knowledge to myself…"

"Until just a few months ago, at the Rose Foundation picnic, when I just couldn't keep my silence any longer." Sayako lifted the hand she had joined with Miki. "I also decided that I needed to do what I should have done in the first place so many, many years ago..."

Miki reached inside her kimono and brought out a beautiful gold rosary. "We're a bit old to act as petite and grande soeur these days," she said softly, as she gazed upon the rosary Sayako had offered to her later that same weekend. She'd been reluctant to accept at first, but then had decided to simply follow her heart.

"But the feelings and meaning of being soeurs are still just as strong," Sayako finished Miki's statement, raising their conjoined hands and placing a small kiss on the back of her petite soeur's hand. "So, just a little over twenty years later, I finally have my fairy petite soeur…"

"And I finally have my angel grande soeur," Miki blushed prettily.

Smiles surrounded the two older women as they looked again into each other's eyes.

"Welcome to the family okaasan," Yumi grinned as she put her arms around both women and hugged them tightly.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Scene four in this chapter is dedicated to Honulicious. You asked for it girl :)

* * *

"Um, Alice-san," Suguru asked one day a week later when he and Alice were both putting in time at the foundation. It was late afternoon on a Tuesday and Alice was at her desk in the reception area going over the list of foundation contributors. February was coming quickly and Yumi wanted to send out cards to everyone commemorating Foundation Day as well as Valentine's Day. Although neither holiday had anything to do with the Rose Foundation it was an excellent opportunity to get the foundation's name back on the people's mind after Christmas and New Year's. Alice knew that if the list wasn't finalized and sent to the printer early enough then there wouldn't be sufficient time to fix any errors and she refused to have a card go out with the wrong address or a name misspelled.

"Hmm?" she replied without lifting her eyes from the list scrolling across the screen of her monitor.

"You might have heard already, but it seems that the Ogasawara's are having a gathering at their estate this coming Saturday evening. Its primary purpose is just to get together with the company's business associates and to try to foster better relations between organizations, but there will also be music and dancing. I was wondering…" he took a gulp and plunged ahead, "I was wondering if I might have the pleasure of your company for the evening."

Alice's finger lifted from the scroll wheel on her mouse and she slowly raised her eyes from the screen to take in his slightly anxious face. He didn't go so far as to wring his hands, but it was plain that he would have liked to. A small, wicked smile appeared on her lips. "Why, Suguru-kun…are you asking me out for a date?" she grinned.

"I…" he started to stammer before shook his head, took a deep breath and chuckled at her audacity. For some reason he found it difficult to believe that this woman had such a hold over him. "You know, Alice-san, you are the most frustrating, infuriating, devilish…and desirable person I have ever had the pleasure to meet. Never in all my years of dating have I ever had to be the pursuer. I have always been the pursued. What is it about you that has me so head over heels?"

Alice smirked coyly. "Isn't that what you're supposed to figure out?" she giggled. "After all, a girl has to have her secrets," Alice said softly as she twirled a curl of light brown hair around her finger, a motion that she'd come to realize Suguru found extremely distracting. Almost as distracting as when she bent over to do some filing while wearing a short skirt. She had found it odd that something so innocent would be just as enticing to him as something so much more lascivious. However, she would use every weapon in her arsenal if it would get the man she'd had a crush on since her first year at Hanadera to look at her as something other than just another classmate.

The fact that he had finally admitted to being "head over heels" for her told her that she'd been playing her role perfectly; or at least well enough. She knew that people, men and women both, threw themselves at him constantly, either for his good looks or because they saw him as a stepping stone on their own career path. Either way, none of them had really ever taken the time to truly get to know Suguru the man; unlike a certain transwoman.

"I guess it is…and I guess you do," Suguru grinned, actually finding it fun to play her game her way. This unsought-after desire that had come upon him so suddenly had certainly made his life a lot more interesting over the last six or seven months. He actually looked forward to the time he could spend at RMII more so than either his classes or his regular job.

"Then again," Alice said, looking up at the ceiling for a moment before turning her brown eyes back to him and giving him a smile that nearly made his knees buckle, "isn't that what dating is for? To get to know each other better?"

"Then, Alice-san," he bowed to her which made her giggle, "will you give this unworthy one the pleasure of your company to the Ogasawara fete?" he asked, reaching down to the desk to take hold of her hand and bring it to his lips. "For if I must go, I would like to go with the most beautiful and desirable woman on my arm."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Suguru-kun," she laughed to try to hide the surge of electricity that had flared through her entire being when his lips briefly pressed against her suddenly too hot skin, "but yes, I will attend the party with you. How could I turn down such a handsome man who knows how to properly treat a lady?" She could see the relief in his eyes and she hated to put a damper on it, but there was something he had to know if they were going to start dating.

However," she said, her voice getting a bit lower and her face becoming distinctly more serious, "as I told you before, I will not become some kind of trophy for anyone. I'm worth more than that. Before you go getting ideas, know now that the person I eventually let into my life is going to be my equal partner, not some man that feels they are better or more important than I am or that their needs are more important than my own. I know your history," the tall, dark haired man had the grace to look guilty at that proper and correct statement. "I'm not looking for a fling. I'm looking for something more. If you can accept that, then I'd be happy to go out with you. If you can't, let's end this here and now and we won't have to speak of it again."

Suguru stood there a moment, silent as he processed Alice's words and the emotions behind them…and realized that her words only made him want her more. Not as a conquest to be made, which he was sure he could achieve if that was what he desired, but possibly as the one person that he could trust to have at his side, completely and without reservation. This wasn't the weeping Kintarou Arisugawa that he had first met as a third-year student at Hanadera. This was a _woman_ that had grown much in three years, who had fully figured out who she was and was comfortable with that person. She had not only accepted who she was, but was proud of the person she had become. Could he say the same thing?

Maybe if she was by his side to remind him, he might one day be where she was now.

"Alice-san," he said and bowed from his waist, "would you do me the honor of allowing me to date…and to court you? I can't promise that I will always be worthy of you, but I can promise to do my best to be a man that you would be proud to have as your partner."

For probably the first time since they had been reunited under the umbrella of the Rose Foundation, Alice was completely speechless…for a period of two seconds. Then a shy smile graced her lips and she nodded her head.

"Suguru-kun, I would be honored to accept your invitation to the Ogasawara party and to date you. As for the courtship…let's take it slow and see where this relationship might lead us," she smiled, holding out her hand which he took within his own and kissed, this time on the palm sending a shiver of desire through her that she was unable to hide.

Suguru smiled, looking forward to not only the party, but what might come in the weeks, months and, hopefully, years thereafter.

-oo-

"Are you sure you're up to this Yumi?" Sachiko asked, the worry evident in her voice and in her eyes. Her eyebrows were in the shape of a frown and there was a deep crease running across her forehead as she watched the love of her life slowly pull herself from the sickbed she had been occupying for nearly a week. "You know that you don't have to do this. Okaasama and Otoosama will understand. They've called nearly every day to check up on you."

"And I know how you hate going to these things. You always felt as if you were being paraded around like a piece of meat," Yumi said seriously but then grinned, "at least you did until I started coming with you."

Sachi had to smile at that. Yumi was correct, of course. When her partner wasn't with her she was much more likely to be approached by some of her father's less savory business associates. She'd been propositioned and manhandled, literally, at numerous of these parties over the years and until Yumi came into her life she'd simply put up with it since it was for the benefit of the family and the company. The importance of the company, and the Ogasawara honor, had been drummed into her since she was a little girl. She was sure, now, that if she'd said anything to her father about how some of his guests had treated her that the culprits would have found themselves not only on the outs with the Ogasawara conglomerate, but would probably have been nursing sore muscles and broken bones. But back then she had known no better.

However, since Yumi had started attending the parties with her she was approached much less often and almost no one had attempted to fondle her in Yumi's presence. After Sachiko had told Yumi one tale of how a man, one of her father's less important business acquaintances, had slipped a hand within the slit of the dress she had been wearing and groped her rear end, Yumi had never left her side at a party. More than one man had been the recipient of one of Yumi's glares when she thought they were getting a little too fresh with her girlfriend. They never seemed to bother her after that.

Still, Yumi was just now getting over her pneumonia and the last thing she needed to be doing was going to some party.

"I do hate it when you're not by my side Yumi," Sachi admitted with a grumbling sigh, "but I'd rather put up with one night of difficulties than to have you relapse."

"I can make it through one party Sachi," Yumi argued as she started pulling various pairs of underwear out of her drawer and holding them up to the dark maroon velvet gown she had decided to wear. "Which do you think? The red or the black?" she asked holding up two different bra and panty sets in front of the relatively demure dress.

"What about neither," Sachiko sighed, crossing her arms over her chest, her frustration building as Yumi ignored her entreaties.

"Why Sachi!" Yumi giggled. "Are you getting kinky in your old age?"

"Wha…why? Oh!" she squeaked and her cheeks blushed a bright red as she realized what she had suggested.

"I've never gone commando before," Yumi smirked and threw the sets of undies over her shoulders as she approached her lover with a swish to her hips, "I'm up for it if you promise to make it worth my while when we get home."

Sachiko couldn't stop sputtering, her cheeks and even her neck turning a bright red as Yumi sashayed up to her and put her arms around the blue-eyed girl's neck.

"I can do this Sachi," Yumi said, her voice turning serious as she leaned up and kissed her embarrassed lover, "but if it makes you feel better I'll leave how long we stay entirely in your hands. If you think I look like I'm getting too tired or pale then you can demand we leave and I won't argue. I promise."

"You promise?" Sachi asked again, just to make sure. "No arguments?"

"Cross my heart," Yumi smiled and made the motion with her finger over her chest.

Sachiko sighed, walked over to where the underwear had fallen to the floor and picked them up. She held each pair up in front of Yumi's dress, scrutinized both sets, and then dropped them back on the floor with a grin. "Then commando it is," she giggled.

It was Yumi's turn to sputter in embarrassment.

-oo-

The party had just gotten started when Sachiko and Yumi entered the grand ballroom at the Ogasawara estate. Sachiko was resplendent in a floor-length black gown with a high collar that left her shoulders completely bare and had a slit on the side up to just above her knee. In respect to the freezing winter weather she wore a shawl that she had handed off to the butler as soon as they arrived. Yumi's floor-length, long-sleeved gown showed far less skin and didn't even have a slit. Even still she felt much more naked and vulnerable than her girlfriend did. Sachi hadn't even let her put on a pair of pantyhose!

"You'd better make this worth my while onee-sama," she whispered severely to her girlfriend.

"You can always go home if you're not feeling comfortable Yumi," Sachiko smirked and tried hard not to giggle which only earned her an angry look from her lover.

"And leave you to the mercy of these jackals? Not going to happen!" Yumi spat.

"My guardian angel," Sachi smiled at her and then leaned over to place a soft, chaste kiss on her petite soeur's forehead. "Is it truly that uncomfortable?"

"Not really," Yumi admitted with a shy grin. "It's more like…have you ever felt embarrassed and yet, at the same time…excited?" she blushed.

"Not yet, but give me time," Sachiko grinned. She then used just the tips of her index and middle finger to draw a line down Yumi's spine, starting between the younger girl's shoulder blades and ending just under her bottom, getting a bit excited herself when she felt absolutely nothing between her fingers and the smooth, tempting flesh of her lover except for that soft velvet fabric.

Yumi jumped at bit at Sachiko's touch, especially when she felt the taller girl's hand cup the right cheek of her bottom. She sent an admonishing look at Sachi but was rewarded only with another smirk and a none too gentle squeeze of her buttock.

"Yumi-chan, what are you doing here?" Sayako asked with lowered brows and a stern voice as she approached her two girls while wearing her usual formal kimono. "Sachi, why isn't she still in bed?"

"As if I have any control over my stubborn petite soeur, Okaasama," Sachiko pouted dramatically. "She wouldn't listen to a word I said. She's as bad as a man!"

"Oh no dear," Sayako pointed out in her teacher voice, "a man that is sick will lie in bed and moan, wanting you to wait on him hand and foot, frequently forgetting that you have name and simply calling you 'mommy'," she instructed her daughter. "Believe me, I know," she chuckled.

"I should have worn a kimono," Yumi suddenly said while slapping her forehead. "At least then I'd be properly wearing…or not wearing…OH!" she slapped that same hand over her mouth to forestall her wayward tongue but it was much too late as Sayako started laughing at her.

"You didn't?" the older woman asked with a pointed look at her daughter.

Sachiko merely shrugged. "It was Yumi that gave me the idea. If she was bound and determined to attend in her condition then she had to pay a penalty."

"Did she at least let you wear…" Sayako asked the poor girl.

"No!" Yumi spat, pointing her foot so that Sayako could see the bare, painted tootsies sticking out of her strappy heels.

"Oh my!" Sayako giggled behind her hand. "Well you look lovely in that dress, Yumi-chan, even with what you are _not_ wearing," Sayako giggled again.

"Two against one is no fair," Yumi pouted, crossing her arms protectively over her suddenly very naked feeling breasts.

"Make her pay for it," Sayako told Yumi with a grin in a loud stage whisper.

"Oh, I fully intend to," the petite girl replied just as loudly.

"Now who's ganging up on whom?" Sachiko chuckled.

Sayako's final remarks included a pointed look at Yumi's breasts, a sigh, and something along the lines of "at least you can still pull it off."

About a dozen more couples had arrived while they were talking so the three ladies went about warmly greeting their guests and ensuring that they each had drinks in their hands.

-oo-

It was Sachiko that noticed that one small group of three people was not having a particularly good time at the party. In fact, one of the three seemed to be about ready to have apoplexy, one was ready to tear the first one's head off, and the third was doing her level best to remain pleasant and polite in the face of the first two. Yumi was in the midst of a discussion regarding the Foundation with one of her father's senior managers so she slipped her hand from her love's and walked across the semi-crowded room to try to forestall bloodshed. From what she could see of the situation the only thing holding back Suguru's fury was the two fingers that Alice had pressed lightly against his wrist.

"It's unnatural I say!" the oldest of the three was spouting off. "I knew that Arisugawa-san had an older son and not another daughter. You should be ashamed of yourself! The honor of your estimable family is at stake!"

"Imaoka-san," Suguru said through gritted teeth, "if you don't…"

"May I be of some assistance here?" Sachiko interrupted her cousin before he could say anything that he might regret later. A quick glance at Alice-san showed that of the three she was probably the one most in control of her emotions which, given the situation, was a bit sad. It was as if she'd heard it all before and had even come to expect it. Sachiko was going to change that.

"Sachiko-chan," the man began, making his very first mistake. Well, second really. "This, this _person_," he stammered angrily with a wave of his hand in Alice's direction, "is not a woman at all, but a man in women's clothing! He's a pervert and a…a faggot! A homosexual! He has no more right to be here than he has being in polite society at all! I demand that he be removed so that your guests are not tainted by his perversions!"

"Sachiko-sama," Alice started with a relieved sigh, most likely getting ready to do whatever she felt was necessary to save her host any embarrassment, but Sachiko would have none of it. She held up her hand to quiet her now startled friend before she began speaking.

"Firstly, Imaoka-san," she said quietly but with a fire in her eyes that spoke volumes to anyone that knew her of just how enraged she was, "you will address me properly as Ogasawara-sama." The man's eyes widened as he realized his initial mistake. He tried to stammer an apology but she showed him the same hand she'd showed Alice and he quickly shut up. "Secondly, you have given grave insult to a very dear friend of mine," she went on, taking hold of Alice's hand and bringing it to her lips to place a small kiss on the back of her hand in apology. Alice smiled appropriately and gave her a small nod of acknowledgement. Sachi also felt a very familiar and desired presence move up beside her. She reached out her other hand without any hesitation and felt the warm fingers of her lover entwine with her own. "That is wholly unacceptable. Thirdly, you show your own ignorance and stupidity by not realizing that the person from which you are asking favors is also one of those horrid, perverted 'homosexuals'," she said, pulling Yumi closer to her so that she could put her arm around her waist. "Have you met my life-partner, Fukuzawa Yumi? No? A pity. You might have learned a thing or two. Lastly," she turned back away from the now sputtering, red faced old man to look at Alice, "Alice-san, among other things, your family is also into plastics are they not?"

"You know that they are, Sachiko-sama," Alice smiled at her and gave her another nod of her head. "Imaoka-san's company is a direct competitor to one run by a cousin of mine, although truthfulness forces me to say that it is not much of a competition. His plant is half the size of ours and we are currently only running at eighty percent capacity, but we still produce revenue and profits three times greater than his. Our products are also of a higher quality," she smiled good-naturedly and without a hint of pride or rancor at the older man's previous diatribe.

"So your family's company could fill orders for an additional thirty thousand units a month without any issues?"

"Of course, Sachiko-sama," Alice grinned. "In fact, I believe I can authoritatively say that with that additional quantity we should be able to achieve sufficient quantity discounts from our suppliers as well as increased savings in manufacturing efficiencies in order to provide Ogasawara Light Industries with an additional five percent discount on all purchases."

"As I suspected," Sachiko nodded thoughtfully before turning back to Imaoka-san who had suddenly gone extremely pale at the mention of the standing order for thirty thousand units per month that he and his company had been comfortably living off of for the past three years. "Imaoka-san, I'm going to say this as plainly as I can so that there can be no misunderstandings. Your company will no longer be a supplier to any Ogasawara organization. I refuse to have my own family's honor tarnished through continued association with you. This is as a direct result of your own stupidity, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness. You have no one to blame but yourself. Think carefully on that while you can. Hopefully what little honor you may have left will bring you to the proper conclusion. Good evening Imaoka-san," she said and then started to turn away from the man where she caught the sight of her father out of the corner of her eye as he stood only a few feet away observing.

"Tooru-san, I beg of you!" the old man turned to her father, pleading and nearly crying.

Tooru walked up and put his arms around his daughter and her partner. "I agree with and stand by Sachan and Yumi-chan as well as Alice-san. Good evening Imaoka-san," he said through pressed lips with only the barest of nods of his head to the butler that now stood behind the man. "Try not to hurt him _too much_ as you show him the door, Kenji-kun," he advised the butler.

"Of course sir," Kenji bowed before he grabbed hold of Imaoka's bicep hard enough for the man to wince in pain and leading him from the room.

Before Alice could thank her, Sachiko turned to the girl and gave her a warm smile. "I expect to get that five percent discount Alice," she grinned.

"Of course Sachiko-sama," the girl smiled back and then bowed a bit more formally. "My honor is yours."

"No Alice," Sachiko smiled. "Your honor is your own…and you do it proud."

Alice grinned and bowed again as Sachi drew Yumi away from the small crowd that had gathered around them.

It wasn't often that Yumi got a chance to see Sachiko in all her glory and she couldn't be prouder of the girl she had fallen in love with. She put her arm though Sachiko's and pulled it close against her bosom.

"You were marvelous Sachi," she murmured happily causing the older girl's cheeks to flush pink. "Do you think that you can take me home now?"

"Are you feeling unwell?" Sachiko asked, turning quickly toward her love with concern. Yumi shook her head.

"No, but if you don't get me home soon I'm just going to have to jump your bones right here on the floor of the ballroom! I'm not sure why, but seeing you put that bigot in his place so forcefully really turned me on!" she grinned wickedly. "If I was wearing any panties they'd be wet."

Sachiko smirked and started to guide them from the ballroom and toward her old bedroom in the family wing of the estate. "We can't have your pretty white thighs dirty now can we?" she grinned evilly. "I'll just have to clean you up properly." As soon as she was through the double doors of the ballroom she swept Yumi off her feet and started carrying her down the hall as if she were a bride. Yumi laughed and threw her arms around Sachi's neck.

"Promise?" she giggled.

"Wench," Sachiko laughed.

"Minx," Yumi replied with a low, sexy chuckle and placed a languid kiss on her lover's sensitive neck.

Sachiko quickened her pace.


	14. Chapter 14

"S-Sachiko-sama?" Sachi heard the weak and pain-filled voice ask over the small speaker in her cell phone a little over a week after the party at her family's estate.

"Alice-san! What's wrong? Where are you?" she exclaimed into her phone before remembering her training and forcing herself to calm down.

"I…I think I got a bit c-cocky," Alice laughed softly and then started in on a coughing fit. "I'm…I'm in an alley b-behind Ruby's Department Store," she coughed again.

Sachiko had been sitting in the meeting room at RMII looking over a bit of paperwork before Alice's call had come in. In fact she had been getting a bit worried since the young woman was supposed to have been at her desk in the reception area over an hour earlier. When she heard her voice and where she was she snapped her fingers at Yumi and pointed at her love's cell phone sitting on the table next to her. Yumi immediately slid it over to her across the table. While Alice was coughing again she slid the phone open and hit the emergency key.

"How may I help you today Fukuzawa-sama?" came the calm, friendly voice over the phone.

"It's Sachiko. I need a discrete pickup in the alley behind Ruby's Department Store. Possible medical emergency. Bring her to the clinic next to the Foundation," she quietly responded.

"An EMT is being contacted and should be there within a few minutes," the young man on the other end of the line replied in that same calm manner.

"Alice," Sachi said into the other phone in a voice that held equal amounts of relief and worry, "a black van will be coming for you in a couple of minutes. Don't be afraid. Their mine. They'll pick you up and bring you to the clinic where Yumi and I will meet you," she explained as Yumi's face showed all the fear that she couldn't.

"Th-thank you, S-Sachiko-s-sama. P-Please d-don't tell Suguru," Alice replied, starting to cry before the line went dead.

"Shit!" the raven haired woman spat as she put her phone away, slid Yumi's back to her and started gathering her things together.

"Sachi!?" Yumi exclaimed. In all the years she had known her now, it was maybe the first time she'd ever heard her onee-sama and lover curse. "What's going on? What's wrong with Alice?" she asked worriedly.

"Get your things and let's go. Alice is injured somehow. My family's security arm is going to be bringing her over to the clinic," Sachiko replied in an angry voice, throwing her purse together as Yumi grabbed her own and headed toward the biscuit door. At least Yumi knew her well enough now to know that the anger wasn't directed at her and, in fact was only there to keep Sachiko from breaking down herself.

The two young women rushed down the stairs and out the door, completely ignoring the embarrassed and baffled exclamations from Masamune-san and Yukiko-san who had been kissing in the printer alcove. They ran down the sidewalk and through the clinic's doors, bypassing the receptionist's desk along and the few patients waiting to be seen, and straight back to the examination rooms. Hikaru Miura, a family practice doctor and one of the first of their growing list of volunteers, stood next to a nurse's desk writing in a patient chart.

"Miura-sensei," Sachiko blurted out, "we have a patient arriving in a few minutes with an unknown medical condition. I need her…excuse me…I need _him_ seen immediately," she panted.

"Of course Ogasawara-sama," he replied, a bit surprised at her flustered demeanor. "Do you know what the problems are? Any symptoms?"

"No. I wish I could tell you but she hung up before I could ask."

"Ah," he nodded knowingly. "Alice-san." He turned to the nurse. "Is Edagawa-sensei working this afternoon?"

"He's with a patient in room three," the nurse replied and Miura-sensei nodded. "I'll let you know if I need him for a consult."

"Yes sensei," the nurse answered, biting her lip at all the commotion surrounding her desk.

The normally locked back door to the clinic opened quickly and two men in black jumpsuits came through the door pushing a gurney upon which lay their dear friend.

"Room 2," the nurse called out while pointing at the only open door of the five examination rooms available.

Sachiko and Yumi rushed to her side as Alice was wheeled into the examination room and the two Emergency Medical Technicians carefully and gently shifted her from the gurney to the examination table. Alice groaned quietly in pain despite their best efforts. There was a gauze wrap around her forehead as well as bandages on both legs and her left bicep. Her right arm was a mass of slowly bleeding scrapes. Once she was settled one of the EMTs turned to Miura-sensei.

"Minor scalp laceration and contusion. No sign of concussion. Broken right clavicle and right ulna along with various contusions and abrasions. Possible fractured rib to the right side of his chest. I think he was thrown into a wall with all the damage to the right side of his body. I'm surprised he had the capability to run away. Multiple cuts, scrapes and bruises on his legs but no breaks that we could find. Heart rate and respiration is elevated needless to say. BP one-forty-two over ninety-three…"

The listing of Alice's injuries and vitals went on as the doctor began examining him.

"I'm sorry Ogasawara-sama, Fukuzawa-sama, but I'm going to have to ask you to step outside for a bit while I examine him," Miura-sensei told them as he reached into one of the drawers and extracted a pair of scissors and started quickly cutting Alice's dress from hem to neckline. "If you could please ask Edagawa-sensei to join me. I'm going to need him," he told the nurse who immediately left to do his bidding.

"Will…will she be all right?" Yumi asked.

"I'm sure she will, but I need to examine her now, so please…" the doctor said, turning to look at the two worried women with a stern and demanding glance. One of the EMT's gently touched Sachiko's arm. She glanced up at him and he nodded toward the door.

"Ojou-sama," he whispered, bringing her back to her sensibilities. She nodded as she and Yumi followed him out the door which he closed softly behind him. "Arisugawa-sama is in pain, but we don't think that any of his injuries is life threatening. The doctor will know more shortly after he examines him. I do, however, need you to let me know what you want me to do with the suspects."

"S-suspects?" Yumi squeaked.

"One of our security teams came with us for protection and came across a group of delinquents searching the alleyways. We think that they were looking for Arisugawa-sama so that they could continue their," he grimaced, "fun. We are currently detaining them in one of the closed storefronts near the department store."

Sachiko's face turned red with fury until Yumi laid a hand on her arm. She took three deep breaths to calm herself before she allowed herself to reply.

"Question them thoroughly and if it turns out that they are the ones that did this to Alice you can turn them over to the authorities," she told the young man through taut lips.

"Yes Ojou-sama," he said with a brief bow before turning and following his partner back out into the alley behind the clinic where they'd parked their van.

Edagawa-sensei, the young ortho and sports medicine resident that they'd met at Saionji-obaasama's birthday party the previous summer, came out of exam room three and made an immediate U-turn into room two. From the brief opening and closing of the door Yumi and Sachi caught a glimpse of Alice's pale, bruised and scraped body and heard another moan issue from between her lips.

"She'll be all right Yumi," Sachiko sighed even through the concern that was evident on her face.

"Of course she will be," Yumi stated emphatically even though her own face told a different tale. "Sh-she'll be f-fine," she whimpered as tears finally started forming in the corners of her eyes now that she knew her dear friend was being properly attended to. Sachiko took the smaller girl in her arms and held her while Yumi cried softly into her breast.

"Shh love. She's in good hands," Sachi cooed to her distraught petite soeur. "Miura-sensei and Edagawa-sensei will take good care of her."

"I-I know," Yumi whispered through her soft weeping. "It-it's just…I've never had a friend hurt by violence before. Why do people do things like this? Why?"

"I wish I could tell you," Sachi sighed, "but I don't understand it either. I sometimes think that Japan houses the largest percentage of bullies per capita in the modern world. We're so intolerant of those that are different from us when we should be celebrating those differences. I read somewhere that, by statistical analysis, there are over sixty thousand intersexuals in Japan today. That doesn't even take into account homosexuals, bisexuals and the transgendered. It's such a large segment of society and yet they're so looked down upon and bullied that they have to hide who they are in fear. It's sad, really, that we can't joyfully accept people for who they are."

"Maybe the Foundation…" Yumi started to say, but Sachi shook her head.

"Not now, Yumi. Maybe in a few years, after we've established ourselves and built our reputation. Taking on controversial issues like that at this point would only hurt the mission we already have."

"But…"

"It's wrong, I know, but that's reality today," Sachiko sighed as she looked down into the tearful eyes of her lover and wished so hard that she could fulfill the desire she saw in them. "You don't know how much I wish it were different Yumi." She watched as those eyes changed from wanting to fury and then to determination in the blink of an eye.

"Fine! We'll wait," Yumi told her in no uncertain terms. "But eventually I _will_ add it as part of our mission. Just you wait onee-sama! I _will_ make them listen! I _will_ make them change!"

With more than a touch of awe, Sachiko looked into those eyes and believed Yumi's every word.

"If anyone can do it love, you can," she smiled.

-oo-

"I'll kill them!" Suguru yelled. "I'll find them and end their miserable lives! No! That's too good for them! First I'll make eunuchs out of them! I'll castrate them! See how they like going through life without their manhood! Then I'll scar their faces so badly everyone will run away from them screaming in fear! Then I'll…"

Suguru was pacing frantically back and forth in the meeting room of RMII, fists clenched tightly and wanting to hit something, anything, while Yumi, Sachiko and Alice sat at the table with their tea and watched with grins on their faces as the normally calm and staid man ranted furiously. Alice couldn't help but smile as she watched the man she was quickly coming to love acting so angry that he was ready to go out and defend her honor with all his might. It was the first time in her life that anyone had been so concerned about her. It was a bit frightening to watch him, but it also brought a warmth to her heart that suffused her whole body with love and desire for the man.

Still…

She put the teacup she'd been holding in her left hand down on the saucer as carefully as she could. She was normally right-handed, but with her right arm in a cast from elbow to wrist and the arm in a sling to alleviate its weight from her broken right collarbone she was forced to use her left. Pushing back her chair she stood and walked so that when he turned around from his latest round of pacing Suguru nearly knocked her over. The much taller man pulled up short, his chest mere centimeters from her smiling face.

She reached up a hand to his surprised face and gently touched his cheek. "Thank you Suguru-kun," she said softly. "I appreciate your anger and wanting to get revenge for me, but they've already been turned over to the police. There's nothing more you can do. Besides," her voice dropped as did her smile, "it's my fault. I shouldn't have been out shopping wearing my girl clothes. I know it's just asking for trouble if someone sees through it. I've been so happy since you and Sachiko-sama stood up for me at the party…that you all have been so accepting of me…that I forgot to be careful." Her head dropped and her eyes looked toward the floor. "I should have…"

Suguru used a very gentle finger beneath her chin to draw her face back up to his. "It is _not_ your fault Alice," he murmured. "You are who you are. You are the woman…the woman that I believe I may easily come to love. You should never feel ashamed of who you are. That you do only makes me even angrier. Not at you," he said quickly as he saw the fear grow in her eyes, "but at a society that would dare make you feel that way. You are a beautiful person, both inside and out. A beautiful woman! Don't let them take that from you. Otherwise they really have won."

"Su-Suguru!" Alice cried and then buried her face in his chest as she held him around the waist with her one good arm and he put both of his around her to hold her close.

"Shh, Alice, shh," he murmured into her hair. "I won't let anyone hurt you ever again. I promise."

Alice shook her head. "You can't promise something like that. I refuse to be some bird in a gilded cage. I won't give up my freedom for safety. I just have to be more careful about where and when I allow myself to be the true me. At least until…" she looked up at him, fear and concern once again in her eyes, but now for a completely different reason. "Suguru. Would…would you still care for me if…if I transitioned? Or would I…"

"Shh," he whispered again, this time with a grin. "I'd continue to love you whether or not you have a penis or a vagina." He grinned wider. "That's what strap-ons are for," he chuckled evilly.

"OH MY GOD! TMI!" Yumi squealed from her seat at the table next to a giggling Sachiko where both Alice and Suguru had complete forgotten their presence. Her face was redder than anyone had ever seen it. She felt as if her entire body must be red from embarrassment. "You're worse than Sei-sama!" she exclaimed.

Yumi's outburst caused everyone in the room to blush and laugh. Including Alice.

"Seriously Suguru," Alice said as her giggles slowly quieted, "we need to talk. I've never before given any serious consideration to transitioning, but," her eyes showed her confusion, "I get so tired of it sometimes. Why can't people just accept me for who I am? Why do I have to keep running all the time?"

Yumi gave Sachiko a significant look, wanting so much to begin her next mission but knowing that now wasn't the right time…at least not for the Foundation. She and Sachi had talked late into the night after they'd driven a sleepy, somewhat doped up Alice back to her family's estate. Neither of them had been there before and Yumi especially was a bit surprised to see that it was on par with the Kashiwagi family residence. Alice's parents had been extremely grateful for the caring and support that they'd given to their daughter and had thanked them profusely. Sachiko had told her on the drive home that Alice's family was as rich if not richer than Suguru's but they kept a much lower profile in high society. Whether it was to protect Alice or not was known only to them, but for at least the past few years the entire family had been less in the public eye.

Sachiko had agreed with Yumi that no one should have to live like that. There were other countries and peoples that fully accepted and even venerated the transgendered. It wasn't a stigma on a family's honor like it was in Japan. There were even transwomen officially recognized by the Chinese government. One – a dancer, ballerina and choreographer with her own dance troupe – was a darling of the Chinese people. So why were the Japanese so dead set against giving their gay, transgendered and IS citizens the same rights and honor?

"It's larger than that and you know it, Yumi," Sachiko had sighed as she pulled the car into the garage and cut the engine. "We have _always_ treated those different from ourselves as being lower than us. Students across the country are bullied if they are too fat, too skinny, too pretty, too ugly, too stupid or even too intelligent. Remember your history. The Japanese eugenics program only officially ended in 1948, but the law that forced sterilization and abortions on people with 'inherited disorders' wasn't repealed until 1996. I swear, every time someone tells me that I'm the perfect Yamato Nadeshiko I feel as if they're insulting me. And don't get me started on how we treat _gaijin_," she spat the pejorative word as if it made her physically ill. "The Diet swears that they want to encourage foreigners to come to this country to help our economy, but then tell me why there are still 'Japanese Only' signs in bars, restaurants, hotels and onsens? If we treat quote-unquote _normal_ people like that, what makes you think that we'd treat the transgendered any better?"

"It still doesn't make it right," Yumi had said with her arms crossed over her chest. She knew what Sachi was saying was true, but that didn't mean she had to like it.

"I never said it was right," Sachiko had sighed again and then leaned over to place a soft kiss on her lover's cheek. "And I never told you that we couldn't try to change it. I just said that we need to wait a bit until the Foundation has built a reputation for honesty, integrity, and honor that is unassailable. _Then_ we can take on these issues and I'll be right there beside you fighting for those changes." She smiled at Yumi who sighed and smiled back at her. "I want to one day be able to legally marry the girl I love in the Lillian Chapel surrounded by my family and friends and with Father Yamada pronouncing us wife and wife."

"Whoever she is, she's a lucky girl," Yumi had grinned only to earn herself a punch in the arm from her lover.

Now, in the meeting room at RMII, both girls were remembering the discussion of the previous evening. Sachiko saw the look Yumi gave her and mouthed back _soon_.

Yumi had to accept that. But she didn't have to like it. And she didn't have to practice it.

"You are accepted Alice," she said, getting up from the table and moving to the slightly smaller girl, "by those that love you and care about you: your family and friends. We'll always love you and accept you no matter what."

"I know Yumi-sama…and you can't know how much that means to me," Alice told her with a small smile. "If it wasn't for you and Yuuki-kun, Sachiko-sama and everyone else," she turned to look up into the dark amethyst eyes of the tall man in front of her who still held her in his arms, "I don't know if I'd even be here today. It was you and your acceptance of me that gave me the confidence and courage to be who I am and I'll never be able to thank you enough."

"No thanks are necessary," Sachiko said while getting up from the table to join the others. "If anything it is us that should be thanking you for helping us to better understand the transgendered and what they have to go through in today's society. Just know that you will always have our utmost love and respect."

"Thank you Sachiko-sa," Sachi raised an eyebrow and Alice smiled, "Sachiko-san."

"Better," the blue-eyed woman smiled. "Not perfect, but better."

"Wait!" Yumi exclaimed. "You can be a –san but I still have to be a –sama?" She pouted. "That's no fair."

Sachi grinned at her. "Brick wall Yumi," she giggled. Yumi just rolled her eyes while Suguru and Alice laughed.

-oo-

"Did you really mean what you said?" Alice asked in a soft voice when she and Suguru finally found themselves alone in the first floor office. Alice's head was turned toward the small window that overlooked the alley between RMII and the subsidized dorm run by the Foundation next door. She didn't want to look at him and see the concern, or worse, pity, in his eyes. He'd been extremely emotional when he'd said what he had upstairs. He rarely showed that kind of emotion, to anyone, and the last thing she wanted was to have him make some declaration of love based on some spur of the moment feelings.

"It's all right if you didn't," she continued in her soft voice when he didn't answer her immediately. "I mean, if anyone is confused about themselves and how they feel it's me. Like I said, I've never given much of a thought to transitioning before. I like who I am now. That was more my fear talking than anything else, so I know how strong emotions can play havoc with the mind and with the tongue. I won't let fear lead me into some stupid decision and neither should you. I…" her breath caught in her throat as she felt two strong yet gentle arms encircle her waist and pull her tightly against his body.

"Be quiet," he whispered in her ear, his breath alone sending a shiver completely through her that she couldn't hide. "I meant just exactly what I said. You're right. My emotions are in a bit of turmoil right now with what happened yesterday, but the one thing that is extremely clear in my mind is that I don't want to lose you. That could have happened and it frightened me. In some ways I'm very much like Sachan. When I'm frightened it has a tendency to come out as anger and bitchiness because I don't like for others to see my fear." He pulled her even closer to him and she felt a shudder slip through him as he laid his chin on the top of her head.

"When I walked in this morning and saw you in that sling and cast it was like a sharp pain knifed through me. And when I heard about what happened all I could see was your lifeless body lying bloody and broken in some unnamed alley. Nothing else could have brought home to me just exactly how much you have come to mean to me. I saw my own life passing before my eyes…and it looked so dreary and worthless without you in it." He kissed her crown and she finally turned around in his arms to stare up into his dark eyes. Her one good arm went around his waist, holding him like she never wanted to let him go. Her eyes dark pools of emotion.

"I've never truly been in love before," he whispered as he got lost in those eyes, "so I can't say with surety that it is love that I'm feeling. I can say that the thought of living a life without you feels meaningless to me." He raised a hand from the small of her back and used the pad of his thumb to wipe away the tears that had formed and begun to fall. He opened his mouth to continue but she quickly moved her hand to tenderly touch a finger to his lips.

"Don't," she whispered. "Don't say any more. I feel the same way Suguru. I don't ever want to spend a day without you in my life. When I was lying there in that alley, bleeding and broken and fearing that any moment those thugs would find me again, it was you I was thinking about. All I kept thinking about was what you would think. What you would say. What you would do. And above all that…that I would miss you. So I…" It was his turn to put a finger against her lips.

"Shut up and kiss me," he grinned.

"I think that's my line," she smiled up at him but did as he asked.

It was long, it was sweet, and it was everything that she'd ever dreamed it would be. When they finally separated for a moment, after the twentieth or thirtieth kiss, with her cheeks flushed and her lips swollen, she laid her head against his chest and listened to his heavy breathing and his heart beating almost as rapidly as her own. A smile came to her lips along with a devilish glint to her eyes.

"Strap-ons?" she giggled.


	15. Chapter 15

Alice sat at her desk in the reception area of RMII staring at the wallpaper on her computer monitor. She had many of them and put different ones up depending upon her mood. She hadn't used this one in a while, but it particularly reflected and supported her current pensiveness. It was the cover of a certain issue of JElle magazine. There were two models on the cover, one male and one female. They were posing on a beach in front of a tall, rocky cliff. The outfits that the models were wearing were completely insignificant when compared to the models themselves.

Or should she say "himself."

The male model was obviously Hiromi-kun although his name hadn't been used anywhere in the magazine. JElle had mentioned his company, but not him and not in connection with each other. His good looks, short, dark black hair and deep amethyst eyes drew you in like a moth to a flame. It was the other model, the female model, that was the real enigma. If you discounted the long strawberry-blonde hair and makeup an observant reader might come to the conclusion that the two models could be twins, and then only because the young woman had the same eyes as the young man. But you would have to be _very_ observant. The editors had even gone so far as to put a large question mark between the unnamed pair as a means to entice sales.

But for Alice that question mark meant so much more.

She was one of the very few that knew that the models were actually one and the same person. There were even some amongst Hiromi-kun's friends that did not yet know of the two years he'd spent playing the role of a Catholic schoolgirl while attending Lillian Girls' Academy. Alice considered herself extremely capable when it came to "cross-dressing" as a woman although she never considered herself a cross-dresser unless she was wearing men's clothing. Unfortunately she wasn't quite as capable as Hiromi-kun in that department as her recent injuries proclaimed. It frustrated her beyond belief that this completely heterosexual young man could do something that she herself could not. At least not yet.

Alice's right hand lifted from the support of the sling and up to the small breasts that rested comfortably beneath her white blouse. As soon as Inoue-sensei's family pharmaceutical company had made the fake breasts that Hiromi-kun had worn commercially available she'd purchased a pair and had Hiromi teach her how to properly apply them. She considered it something of a miracle that she could touch herself, tweak that fake nipple, and feel it as if it were her own. Looking at the magazine cover she couldn't tell that the ones the female Hiromi was wearing were fake. No one could. But they were. Fake.

She glanced over at the small card taped up to the corner of the monitor. It was an appointment card to remind her that she had to meet with her family doctor later that week. She needed to renew her prescription for T-blockers and he wanted to see her this time before he'd renew them. She needed to see him as well.

Her hand unconsciously moved from her breast down to her left wrist where a finger gently traced the thin, almost unnoticeable scar. She had scars on other parts of her body and would probably pick up a few more from this latest beating and for the same reason. She closed her eyes as the horrible memory resurfaced.

She normally didn't go shopping unless she had one of the family butlers or her driver with her, but it had been such a nice day and she'd been in such a great mood that she couldn't help herself. Immediately after school she'd changed her clothes in the unisex bathroom at a small, out of the way restaurant and started window shopping, stepping every so often into one woman's store or another to take a little closer look at the merchandise. She'd been having so much fun until _they_ came.

Just like the previous day, a group of young boys had seen past her "disguise." She'd tried to talk her way out at first, but they'd pulled her into an alley and started pushing her around, back and forth between them as they laughed at her tears. The first punch had been to her chest, the second to her stomach and the third to her jaw. She went down fairly easily and found herself being kicked and punched as she lay on the cold, filthy ground of the darkened alley. One boy had sat on her stomach and pummeled her while the others, she never did remember just how many of them there were, continued to kick her. Most of the scarring came from one boy who had worn steel-toed boots that day although the others had inflicted similar damage.

She'd really started screaming when they'd begun ripping at her clothes and pulling at her panties. She could still feel the phantom pain as one boy had grabbed her balls and squeezed without mercy before kicking her in her totally unprotected genitals. She'd lost one testicle that day.

The only thing that had saved her was her family's penchant for planning ahead. Her father had installed a GPS chip in her cell phone. When she didn't come home from school right away he'd sent her driver after her. She couldn't imagine the scene that he'd walked into when he'd turned down that dark alleyway. She didn't remember much after the one boy had nearly destroyed her penis and testes. Her parents had later told her that she had been extremely lucky for the timely rescue. One of the boys had pulled out a knife while another had started taking off his own pants.

Her parents had never told her what had become of the delinquents. All she was told was that they'd never have a similar opportunity in the future.

Alice had been immediately taken to their family doctor where she'd been sewn up and her other injuries treated. She'd ended up missing two weeks of school right after the beating and then another week after the surgery to remove the damaged testicle. Her doctor had also advised that her parents put her in counseling; not to try to change her personal view of herself, but to help her better understand herself. That had been the plan, but her first psychologist had had other ideas.

He'd been a complete, prejudiced quack. All he'd done was try to tell her that she was wrong and that she'd never be happy until she accepted the fact that she was a boy. No matter how much she complained to her parents they didn't want to listen...or at least her father hadn't wanted to at the time. He changed his mind after she gave herself that scar on her wrist. While she was in the hospital afterward she'd been visited by a new doctor. He'd been much more open-minded and attentive to her words and feelings than her old psychologist had been. After running her through the appropriate questions and tests outlined in the most recent _Diagnostic __and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders_ (DSM-IV-TR) she was officially diagnosed with Gender Identity Disorder.

She'd been "out" to her parents and sister for almost a year at the time of the beating and they'd pretty much become used to, if not totally accepting of, her claiming to be a girl stuck in a boy's body. After the beating, and then even more so after her attempted suicide, and with the conclusions from the shrink, they'd finally agreed that "Kintarou" was, in fact, Alice.

It had been her new psychiatrist that had eventually recommended to her parents that she begin taking the testosterone blockers. She was then thirteen and that bitch Puberty was about to hit her with all she had. They all agreed that the use of the T-blockers would not only help her with her identity crisis, but would also provide her with the needed time to make up her mind regarding any future "changes" she might want to make. They didn't want to force anything on her and even though she knew it was better to start taking estrogen supplements early she wasn't quite ready to go to that next step yet. Her parents had already started fading away from the social scene because of her and she couldn't even fathom the difficulties her sister was having with her "brother" becoming her "sister." Trying to explain why their son, a young man at Hanadera Boys' Academy, was developing breasts was something she didn't want to have to put them through.

Ever since then her family had been some of her greatest supporters despite the hardships that they endured for her. The only ones that had been even more supportive of her had been the Fukuzawa siblings.

It had been in her second year of high school and she, Yuuki-kun and the rest of the student council had been working hard on the school festival. They'd needed to get some more information from some of the clubs and it had been suggested that she head over to the club building to meet with them and gather the necessary information and documents.

"Wouldn't it be better to send someone one with him?" Masamune-kun had asked with a touch of concern in his voice. Some of the clubs she'd have to be going to were known for their childish pranks and/or homophobia.

"She'll be fine," Yuuki had said with a wave of his hand, not even bothering to look up from the stack of papers on the table in front of him. The silence that had suddenly fallen over the room at those three simple words had been palpable.

"She?" Magane Takada, the muscleman of the council had squeaked uncharacteristically.

Yuuki had glanced up at those around him, noting that every pair of eyes had focused on him including Alice's which showed probably the most shock of all of them. "Yes, 'she'," he'd sighed with exasperation. "Please don't make me believe that I'm the only one that knows who she is. I know I'm not the brightest bulb in the room, but even I know that Alice is and always has been a 'she!' All of you couldn't have flunked proper pronoun usage." With that he'd dismissed the topic and gone back to looking over the papers in front of him.

Alice had to smile at the memory. It was the first time anyone outside her family had acknowledged her true gender and he'd done it so matter-of-factly, as if it were simple common knowledge and nothing of note. She'd been in shock for a few moments after that as the other guys had looked from Yuuki to her, then back to Yuuki and then back at her again. She'd been afraid that they'd laugh or, worse, ridicule her, but they'd then looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders and gone back to their own work. It had been the most dramatic thing that had happened to her in her life since being diagnosed. She'd quickly gathered her things together to run over to the club building before the tears of happiness started to fall too quickly. However, instead of rushing out the door she'd impulsively stopped briefly to place a quick, soft kiss on Yuuki's cheek. He'd looked up at her, unfazed at the sudden demonstration of affection and simply smiled, his eyes sparkling in that way that told her he'd done the whole thing on purpose and that he was happy for her but not overly surprised that everyone had accepted it so easily.

And when Yumi-sama accepted her just as quickly and easily as her brother had. And then Sachiko-sama. Her world had gone from bleak and grey to filled with the vibrant colors of life. That had been the true changing point in her life and she had those two wonderful siblings to thank for it.

She looked back up from the scar on her wrist to the picture on her computer screen, her eyes focused on the breasts being so proudly displayed by Hiromi-kun. Fake breasts.

"It's time," she said quietly to herself.

She felt a soft kiss placed on top of her head as a pair of thin arms encircled her shoulders and she turned her head quickly to see a pair of sparkling sapphire blue eyes.

"Good," Sachiko smiled.

"Wha!" Alice squealed in surprise.

"I didn't think that anyone's face went through the 'life-phases' as much as Yumi's does, but you're not far behind, Alice," the raven haired woman giggled, "at least when you are so unguarded." She reached over and took Alice's small left hand in her own, raised it up and then kissed her wrist right on top of a very pale, _almost_ completely unnoticeable scar. "Never again," Sachi whispered so that only the girl in front of her could hear. "You know we'll support you whatever you decide," she said with a significant glance at the brown haired girl's chest. "I'd recommend that you speak with Suguru first though, not to ask for permission mind you, but only so that he won't be surprised when he finds a brand new set of natural C-cups," she giggled again.

Alice's eyes had been wide the entire time that Sachiko spoke but that last comment brought a grin to her lips. "What about D's," she smirked.

"Too big for your height and frame," Sachi replied seriously with a shake of her head. "Besides," she then leered, "as Yumi well knows, I like them on the small side."

A very loud mouse-squeak of a sneeze came from the upstairs meeting room that only further fueled their laughter.

-oo-

Shimako and Noriko took up two seats in a row of bright blue plastic chairs just outside the security checkpoint with their eyes glued to a particular portal. Aeroflot flight 2403 had landed almost a half hour ago and its passengers had finally started meandering through the terminal and out to the waiting line of cars, taxis and buses or down to the local train station. Many of the passengers appeared to be locals returning from a vacation abroad. There were some few groups of men and women that seemed to be arriving for business purposes and even a few that looked as if they were here for their own holiday. But there was only one that when she entered the terminal, her shoulder-length black hair swaying and her dark brown eyes taking in everything in an instant, took all that was offered and made it hers. For those few moments, as people turned to stare and gape at the tall, slender and shapely beauty, she owned that terminal and everyone in it. Including one of the two young women that had been waiting for her.

"Shizuka-sama!" Shimako squealed in delight as she almost leapt from her seat to rush into the waiting arms of her dear friend and pen pal. Noriko couldn't help but grin and giggle at her grande soeur's total loss of composure. If anyone saw the sweet, angelic, serene former Rosa Gigantea right now they wouldn't recognize her in the twittering girl seeming to be dancing on her toes and clapping her hands in joy as she jumped into Shizuka Kanina's laughing arms. It was a side of Shimako that only very few ever had the privilege of seeing and Noriko considered herself one of the blessed that she was included in that small grouping of friends.

"Shimako-chan," Shizuka laughed at the slightly younger girl's boisterous manner. They hugged briefly and then Shizuka placed two small kisses, one each, on the dark blonde girl's cheeks. "Ciao sorella," Shizuka giggled as Shimako's face lit up like a stoplight with embarrassment. Even Noriko couldn't keep herself from laughing at her girlfriend's plight over the European style greeting. "And you must be Noriko-san," Shizuka turned a warm and inviting smile on the shorter black haired girl who bowed her head in acknowledgement as her girlfriend tried to compose herself.

"It's a very nice pleasure to finally meet you, Shizuka-sama," Noriko returned the smile in greeting. "Onee-sama has told me so much about you."

"'Onee-sama'?" Shizuka chuckled as Noriko shrugged her shoulders and grinned while Shimako's cheeks grew bright once again. The blonde wondered briefly what would be issuing from her love's lips in response to Shizuka's query. She should have known better.

"We may be lovers but we don't go out of our way to advertise it," Noriko replied still smiling. "Why invite trouble?"

"I like her Shimako-chan," Shizuka chuckled again and turned to regard her blushing kohai. "Blunt and to the point. So refreshing after all the tip-toeing everyone else does while dancing around same-sex relationships. It's like a breath of fresh air. I can see why you love her. She can say what you can't; at least publically."

"That's not the only reason," Shimako smiled, finally getting back into serene mode and recapturing her own group of followers as she once again became the 'Angel of Lillian.' She turned to her love and held out her hand which Noriko took gently, entwining their fingers. "She's everything to me," she sighed, her eyes and lips saying what her words could not.

"I know you said that you were happy in your letters to me," Shizuka smiled widely, "but you can't know how happy it makes me to see you like this."

"Thank you, Shizuka-sama," Shimako smiled shyly.

"Why don't we collect your luggage and grab a taxi, Shizuka-sama," Noriko offered since they'd started to garner more than a few curious glances from passer's-by.

"This is all I have with me," Shizuka replied with an indication of the roller-bag that sat next to her feet. "I shipped everything else ahead."

"You're staying at Yumiko-sama's place aren't you?" Noriko asked as she captured the bag's handle away from a surprised and then appreciative college student and opera singer. The three began walking toward the airport terminal's exit.

"Yes," the brown-eyed diva replied. "Kei mentioned to Sei that Yumiko-sama had another cottage on the estate grounds that she wouldn't mind renting out. It's close to Lillian so I won't have a long commute and it's private so I don't have to worry about noisy neighbors…or annoying my own neighbors with my singing."

"Your singing could never annoy anyone," Shimako laughed before turning somewhat pensive at Shizuka's mention of Sei. "So…you've spoken to onee-sama?" Shimako asked quietly. "How is…"

"We're fine," Shizuka smiled over at the concerned young woman. "I know how much she loves Mizuno-san and I'd never want to come between them. I'm just happy that I can call her a friend now. We haven't spoken anywhere near as often as you and I have over the past three years by letter, but at least _she_ doesn't have any qualms emailing or calling me," she said while giving the dark blonde a look of hurt frustration.

"I can't help it if the temple doesn't have Internet access," Shimako pouted cutely. "And international calls are so expensive."

"I've tried to tell her that she could get cellular Internet service but she doesn't want to spend the money," Noriko sighed with exasperation. "It would certainly make _my_ life easier if she did. I could then contact my great-aunt via email instead of having to call her. It would make research for school papers a lot easier as well."

"I just can't ask it of our worshipers," Shimako tried to explain again. "Such luxuries could only be used for personal gratification rather than for the benefit of the entire temple."

"And I keep trying to tell you that the well-being of the priest and priestess are just as important to the worshipers as the temple itself. Let's face it, when it comes down to it, the temple is only a building. It is the prayers and devotions of the clergy and worshipers that's important, not the location."

Shizuka couldn't hide her smile as she watched the two young women arguing over a topic that had obviously been discussed on more than one occasion. Seeing an opportunity she decided to take it. She put two fingers between her lips and shrill whistle caught not only the surprised attention of the two arguing lover's but also of most of the people surrounding them as well as the taxi driver waiting patiently for his next fare.

"As entertaining as it is seeing the two of you bicker at each other like husband and wife," she giggled, "I believe that I have an answer to your problems." When she saw that she had the full attention of both girls, albeit blushing again from her comment, she waved at the taxi driver to take her bag and put it in the trunk. She then ushered her friends into the cab with Shimako and her sitting in the back while Noriko sat in the passenger seat next to the driver. She tried hard to withhold her grin as they finally situated themselves, both girls still looking surprised and curious over what sort of solution she could have come up with.

"Shimako-chan," she started off, "as you already know I am a Catholic, albeit not overly strict. Your father is Buddhist and you, of course, are Shinto. Not only that, but your father is a Buddhist priest, you live in a Buddhist temple, and you yourself are now a Shinto priestess with your own temple and following." She giggled when she saw their expressions of continuing confusion after she had pointed out the obvious.

"One of the courses I'm going to be taking at school when I return in the fall is Comparative Religions and I've heard that they do a lot of Internet instruction. I'm sure that the university would love to have the opportunity to actually view both a Buddhist ceremony as well as a Shinto ceremony. You could then describe the history and significance of each religion as well as answer the student's questions. With your in-depth knowledge of all three religions, Shimako-chan, you'd be the ultimate subject matter expert. There's more than one such course and, being Rome, the Religion Department is not devoid of funding. I'm sure that they would spring for Internet service, even Wifi, to the temple if you promised to provide videos and lectures to their classes." She looked at her watch and noted that it was just turning three P.M. "It's a seven hour difference between here and Rome so it's almost eight A.M. there. I could call my advisor and mentor when we get to Yumiko-sama's to see if the Chair of the Religion Department would be interested in such an arrangement."

"Do…do you think that's possible?" Shimako squeaked quietly, trying hard to maintain her decorum while her insides were jumping around at the possibilities. "I mean, there can't be a lot of shrines in Rome…"

"Nor is everyone going to the university Christian or Catholic," Noriko chimed in, getting in the spirit of tempting her onee-sama. "Some may be Buddhist or even Shinto. Think of how they would feel to be a part of a worship service even if it is via the Internet. It's no different than the services for shut-ins that the more mainstream religions run on television."

"I refuse to ask for money," Shimako stated in relation to that last statement. "I don't mind getting the Internet, Wifi, or even cellular service in exchange for helping to establish good relations between religions and cultures, but I draw the line with actual monetary payments. But," Shimako actually frowned slightly with concern, "Shizuka-sama, why are you doing this?"

Shizuka laughed and put her arm across Shimako's shoulders and hugged her tightly. "Isn't it obvious? When I have to go back to Italy I want to be able to email and video chat with my precious friend," she giggled. "While I enjoy reading your letters and hope that we'll continue to correspond in that manner, I also want to be able to talk to you directly as well. Who knows," she went on with a devilish grin, "maybe I'll talk Noriko-chan into leaving the webcam on and I can watch you two being intimate with each other. I have to get my love life vicariously through the two of you."

"Shizuka-sama!" Shimako squealed in embarrassment while Noriko got thoughtful.

"Don't you have someone special to you, Shizuka-sama?" Noriko asked quietly.

The black haired beauty sighed. "Not really Noriko-chan. There was someone…once…but that wasn't to be. And I've been so busy with my university and singing studies, as well as numerous performances, that there really hasn't been any time to form any meaningful relationships. That's one of the main reasons I value Shimako-san's friendship so highly. Even though we're thousands of miles away from each other I know that I can pour my heart out to her in a letter with the full belief that she won't judge me too harshly. With her writing style I can also easily imagine everything she tells me in her letters as if I were there at the moment she's describing."

"Well, I won't promise Internet sex," Noriko grinned, "but neither will I get between you and Shimako's friendship. I know how important you are to her, but I also know where I stand with her," she said a bit more softly as she reached out and Shimako took her hand within her own. The love between the two women was very evident to their guest from Italy.

"I appreciate that, Noriko-chan," Shizuka told the black haired girl. "I know that both of you will always be very important to me."

By the time the three women had finished dinner, negotiations with Rome were well on their way and it was quite apparent that the Shoguji Temple would soon have full Internet service and Shimako would be receiving her very first cell phone.


	16. Chapter 16

"I must have died and gone to heaven," Sei chuckled before leering and giving a low wolf-whistle of appreciation for the sight before her eyes. "Who'd have ever thought that I'd have my little Yumi-chan all to myself…naked!"

"Sei-samaaaa," Yumi whined as she covered her bare breasts.

"Like I'd let you within a mile of a naked Yumi without a chaperone," Sachiko said coldly with a roll of her eyes.

"Ah, you ruined it," Sei pouted dramatically. "And here I had this wonderful fantasy going."

"You can fantasize all you like, as an artist you can even look all you want, but don't you dare touch!" Sachiko warned her with a finger under the tall blonde's nose. Sachiko had mellowed tremendously over the past few years, but that didn't mean she still couldn't pull on the mantle of the Ice Princess whenever she needed to. The intimidation factor in those cold blue eyes and the set of those now pursed lips was enough to force Sei to take a step backwards before she caught herself and chuckled again.

"I see you still have it, Sachan," she chuckled. "I promise that I will only look upon Yumi-chan's form as an expression of art and nothing more," she said while crossing her heart. Then she leered again, "although I can't make any promises about what happens in my dreams at night."

"Sei-samaaaa."

Even Sachi giggled at Yumi's obvious discomfort with being the topic of this type of discussion. "I'd never try to censor your dreams Sei-sama," the raven haired woman laughed. "I have enough of them myself," she confessed as she turned her own leer on her lover causing Yumi's skin to turn a bright red with embarrassment – and there was an awful lot of it on display. Sachiko didn't think she'd ever seen a full-body blush before.

In point of fact Yumi was not completely naked. However the only thing that covered any portion of her body was an artfully arranged drape of nearly translucent material across her hips and groin. She was sitting half reclined on a rococo style divan, leaning against the arm of the piece with one leg stretched out along its length while the other was daintily touching the floor. Similarly she had one arm stretched across the back of the sofa while the other rested on the arm, a glass of dark red wine in her hand. It was an extremely provocative pose with her just barely seen nether regions spread wide but tantalizingly covered creating the image of a precious treasure just waiting to be discovered.

"Remind me again what your professor assigned as a project for this endeavor," Sachiko asked as her eyes roamed freely over the form of her lover. Seeing Yumi in such a condition was stirring things in her lower belly that she knew for a fact she'd have to satisfy sometime later that night. The smirk that Yumi gave her suggested that the two were thinking the exact same thing.

"Oh! Yumi, that's perfect! Don't change that expression! Sachiko-chan, I'm sorry but I think you're going to be here for the duration if you can get that smile on her face," Sei grinned before answering the question. "The requirement is for 'a reclining woman similar to an odalisque' or so he says. It's my intent to try to capture something similar to the Orientalism of Henri Matisse," Sei explained as she once again moved behind her easel and the large framed canvas resting upon it. "I'll also add just a small touch of Cubism so that Yumi's features are sufficiently obscured such that no one will recognize her." The grey-eyed woman spent the next few minutes making sure that all of her tools were ready and available.

"And the resulting painting will be displayed in the school's end-of-term art exhibit next month?" Sachiko asked, pushing the thoughts and feelings flowing through her into the background, wanting to be absolutely sure she understood the situation of how Yumi's portrait was going to be shown to the public and potentially owned by someone other than herself.

"Yes," Sei waved a hand at her without looking up, "and then everything is going to be auctioned off for various charities. The proceeds from this one will of course go to the Rose Foundation." It was for this reason alone that Yumi had eventually, after much begging, agreed to sit for the portrait.

"Um," Yumi murmured hesitantly from where she reclined, "could I make a request?"

Two sets of eyes turned to look at her in surprise.

"Sure," Sei replied with a quizzical look.

"I've…I've already been told by some of your classmates that they're having the proceeds of the auction of their paintings go to the Foundation. I was wondering…I was wondering…if you wouldn't mind," she stammered, unsure of herself suddenly, "if you wouldn't mind if I asked that the proceeds from this painting go somewhere else?" she finished softly, almost as if she were waiting to be rebuked by her onee-sama once again.

Sei and Sachiko stared, surprised and silent, at the young girl for a moment before Sachi asked, "Who would you want the proceeds to go to if not to the Foundation, Yumi?"

"I…I was hoping," Yumi stammered again and then seemed to take control of herself, a fierce determination entering her eyes as she looked up at her onee-sama, "I want the proceeds to be donated to The Rainbow Fund for Acceptance and Tolerance."

"That's an LGBT charity," Sei commented thoughtfully. "They work with community groups to promote greater acceptance of the lesbians, gays, bisexuals and the transgendered and are pushing the Diet for zero tolerance bullying regulations within public schools. I've donated to them myself in the past." Yumi nodded.

"I know that the Foundation is too new to take on such a controversial mission, but the Rainbow Fund is a well-known and long-established organization. It's even recognized by the government unlike some of the lesser known groups," Yumi explained her reasoning. "It's ultimately up to you Sei-sama, it's your painting, but if the model has any say, that's what I'd like to see happen."

Sei looked to Sachiko who was looking at Yumi as if she had just said something that had made her too proud for words, so she shrugged her shoulders and said, "Sure. I don't mind." Then the leer came back full force. "But if auctioning off one painting garners a big donation, what about two?" she grinned lasciviously causing Yumi to squeak, blush and cover herself again.

At least until Sachiko slapped the back of her senior's head.

"One's enough for now Sei-chan," she chided the older girl.

All three girls giggled.

-oo-

"I…I have three…um…three hundred thousand yen, do…do I hear three-twenty-five?" the auctioneer stammered, so startled at the bidding that he'd completely given up on the fast-paced chant he'd started out the bidding with.

"Three-twenty," Yumi heard from someone in the back of the fairly large crowd that had filled the auditorium of Lillian University.

"I knew we should have done two," Sei chuckled from where she stood next to Sachiko. Yumi was standing on the other side of her tall partner, her mouth gaping open as yet another bidder upped the ante to three hundred and thirty thousand.

Sei's painting wasn't getting the highest bids of the day, that honor belonged to a senior that was already a well-known artist and had had showings in multiple galleries. Sachiko knew art. It was one of the many things she'd been tutored on while growing up as being part of a 'proper education' for a woman of high society. She had been astounded when she'd seen Sei-sama's finished piece. The former white rose had somehow captured not only the sensual eroticism of the model, but her pure innocence as well and had put it on display for the entire world to see. Only a soul devoid of humanity would be unable to fall in love with the model as well as the artist. Even discounting her own feelings for the model she knew instinctually that her sempai had more than a passing chance at becoming one of Japan's leading artists.

She glanced to a non-descript man standing in the corner of the room and gave him the barest of nods. Without acknowledgement he stood forward and raised his hand.

"Five hundred thousand," he called out loudly eliciting gasps of shock from the crowd.

Yumi looked dumbfounded at the man and then turned to her lover.

"If you think I'm letting anyone else own a nude portrait of my lover you're crazy," Sachi said without blinking an eye. "Besides, it's an investment. One day soon Sei-sama's artworks are going to be worth tens or even hundreds of millions. I fully expect to achieve a significant return on my investment…assuming I would ever sell it."

The smile and hug Yumi gave her was worth every penny she had spent and much, much more.

"Hundreds of millions?" Sei smirked.

"Would you care to bet on it?" Sachiko grinned back.

"Not on your life," Sei chuckled. "An Ogasawara only bets on a sure thing. But your faith in me might make my already huge ego just that much bigger," she laughed as the auctioneer called out five hundred thousand for the third and final time before hammering the sale home.

Sachiko sighed. "I knew this whole thing was a bad idea from the beginning." Yet looking at the brightly smiling face of her love told a completely different story. "You know Sei-sama, if you have more paintings available I could talk to one of the people at the gallery my family owns; maybe interest them in a showing."

"Thanks Sachan," Sei replied and Sachiko could tell that she really meant it, "but if you don't mind I'd like to see what I can do on my own first. I know that a lot of artists have a patron or sponsor, but…" her voice faded out.

"I understand," Sachiko said gently, understanding that Sei preferred to earn her place in the art world by her own hard work and not on the back of someone else, "just so long as you promise me right of first refusal when you do decide you want or need a patron. I can think of a few less risky investments, but not many."

Sei nodded and Sachi could have sworn she saw a shimmer of moisture in the older girl's eyes as the blonde smiled at her.

Sachiko had been raised to be a cutthroat business woman and to run the Ogasawara Zaibatsu with an iron hand. Yet after meeting Yumi and the rest of the roses, after creating the Rose Foundation with Hiromi-kun, she was finding that helping others gave her a much greater feeling of satisfaction. She didn't have much choice in eventually taking over her grandfather's position as Chairman of the Board, but she was starting to think that maybe asking Suguru-kun to take on her father's position as President and CEO, for which he had similarly been raised and was eminently qualified, wouldn't be such a bad idea.

"Feels good, doesn't it onee-sama?" Yumi smiled up at her while squeezing her hand, having obviously followed where her thoughts had been running. "Helping others I mean."

"Why didn't you tell me it could feel this good," Sachiko chided her teasingly. "My mother has worked with charities and philanthropic endeavors for as long as I can remember, but even she has never told me how…fulfilling it can be."

"It's something you have to experience yourself, Sachi," Yumi shrugged. "I could have told you just as your mother could have, but to actually feel the warmth of knowing that you've made someone's life just that little bit better…there are no words that can adequately describe it."

"I think I understand, Yumi," Sachiko smiled. "Thank you."

Yumi just smiled back at her and squeezed her hand while the auctioneer started his fast-paced chant for the next piece of art up for auction.

"Maybe two _would_ have been better," Sachi murmured happily to herself.

-oo-

Along with the end-of-term auction there were, of course, the end-of-term exams to be taken and projects to be completed and handed in. Yumi's final project for her Architecture class was, of course, a church. It _is_ a Catholic school after all. Sei-sama painted the artist's rendition this time using Yumi's various elevations as her model and after the two discussed the project for a few hours over several days. Never one to forego an obvious efficiency of effort, Sei painted two copies of the church, Yumi's in watercolors and her own in acrylics, and turned the second one in for her own Art class project. Sachiko spoke to both of their teachers to ensure that any grades for the projects would be written on separate sheets. She wanted absolutely nothing to mar what she considered to be future investments.

As usual, Sachiko did enough studying during the term and seemed to grasp the material so quickly that she didn't put in anywhere near the hours that others did getting ready for their exams. She knew for a fact that Hiromi and Tsutako had pulled at least two separate all-nighters together that had absolutely nothing to do with sex. Sachiko helped Yumi study for those classes she was also knowledgeable in and the four of them - herself, Yumi, Tsutako and Hiromi - had even had study sessions together with Hiromi and Yumi (believe it or not) handling the cooking chores while she and Tsutako-chan cleaned up afterwards.

Yumi had, by necessity, cut back on the number of hours per week that she spent at the Foundation, but the other volunteers stepped up to fill in any gaps that her absence presented. Everyone was busy and looking forward to the end of the school year. In fact, it appeared that only one person was actively working and looking forward instead to the start of the new term.

Inoue-sensei was walking along the cobbled paths of Lillian Girls' Academy on her way back to the infirmary from having had lunch at Mama Cho's. As she was passing the education building her feet came to a slow stop as her ears noted a beautiful sound coming from one of the open windows of an upper floor room.

"I know that voice," she grinned to herself as she turned from her original destination and made her way into the school building and up a flight of steps to one of the last rooms on the second floor. The sound of a grand piano being played by one of the better students came floating out of the nearly closed door along with what could only be described as the voice of an angel. Most people would be polite and wait for the end of the song before entering, but she was not some overly polite ojou-sama. She was Sadako Inoue, over-sexed bi-sexual school nurse and she'd never been hesitant about going after what, or _who_, she wanted.

She slid the door open as quietly as she could, just wide enough for her slender body to pass, before closing it again, properly this time, behind her. As she had thought, one of the advanced students was sitting at the piano playing while her angel sang what was considered by some to be Mozart's most difficult soprano coloratura, "Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen" from his opera _The Magic Flute_. Hearing her hit the F above High C sent a shiver down her spine while just the sight of her angel caused a certain heat to begin smoldering once again after too long a time. The mirth in those dark brown eyes suddenly filled with fury as the Queen of the Night turned on an unwilling Pamina. Sadako vividly remembered the scene from the opera and quivered in fear as her mother exhorted her kill Sarastro or face being disowned and dishonored. Kanina-san's commanding presence left her no choice but to play the role as it was meant. When Shizuka thrust a quickly found baton in her hand she knew it was not a baton, but a knife with which she was supposed to kill her mother's rival. Luckily her role at this stage required no singing or the entire effect would have been ruined by her less than stellar talent. Her talents lay elsewhere.

She cowered in fear of her mother's wrath as Shizuka pushed her around the room until the constant bombardment of those perfectly performed staccato high notes turned her legs to jelly and she crumpled to the floor, a quivering mass. She laid there in a fetal position, the baton - no, knife - clutched tightly to her chest until the aria ended. Shizuka's bell-like laughter gave her the time to throw off the shakes that the soprano's voice had induced within her.

"Ah, you just wanted to get me on the floor so that you could have your way with me…_Rosa Canina_," Sadako chuckled in a deep, sultry voice from where she lay. It was Shizuka's turn to shiver.

"Now you sound like Sei-san," Shizuka giggled to hide her discomfort.

"Why does everyone say that?" Sadako sighed dramatically. She switched her position so that she lay on her back and elbows, looking up from the acoustic floor tiles at the gorgeous diva above her. "Not that I mind the comparison," she chuckled. "Satou-chan always did have the sense of humor of a dirty old man, and I've certainly been described as such in the past."

"You, Inoue-sensei? I would never consider you either old or a man…although dirty minded might fit quite nicely," Shizuka giggled again.

Sadako looked at the pianist laughing at her two sempai. She suddenly blushed and gathered up her things to flee from the room covering her mouth to keep her giggles from escaping at the antics of her seniors.

"And now you've run off my accompanist," Shizuka sighed, rolling her eyes and putting her hands on her well-proportioned and curvy hips. "Whatever am I going to do for a partner now?" she asked with feigned exasperation, all the while doing her level best to withhold her own laughter.

"Well…if it's a partner you want," Sadako leered up at the black haired beauty. There was a very good reason that she was still on the floor. Looking up at the younger woman gave her ample opportunity to allow her eyes to wander up those shapely legs, well beneath the hemline of the medium-length skirt Shizuka wore, almost but not quite as far as she would have preferred, and then even further up to the bottom of now well-developed breasts, before finally settling on the rose red lips and deep brown eyes that couldn't hide the mirth that those pressed together lips denied. "I'm sure you could certainly do worse than me."

"Oh, do you play piano Inoue-sensei?"

Sadako flexed her long, slender fingers enticingly before answering. "I can play many instruments…including the human body…as a nurse of course," she chuckled.

"Of course," Shizuka laughed along with the woman not so many years older than herself.

Sadako was well known to be sex crazed, or at least seemingly so. Shizuka believed differently. Just as she knew that Sei-san had for a long time hidden herself behind her false mask of the flirtatious 'bian, so too did she know that there was much more depth and emotion hidden behind Sadako-san's dirty old man ways. The school nurse was also well known for getting what she went after. The only exception to that was her one steadfast rule that she would never take advantage of one of the students under her care. And while they were students at Lillian they were all under her care, whether they were injured, sick or as healthy as an ox.

However, the woman standing over top of the sexy nurse was no longer under her care.

Inoue-sensei got up from her position on the floor and walked over to the piano, taking a seat and, after stretching out her fingers a bit, began to play the Habanera from Bizet's _Carmen_. "Believe it or not, I was once a student here at Lillian," she spoke as she played. "Because of my father's business I ended up having to move away for a few years, but I returned and earned my nursing degree from Lillian U. Kaori-sensei knew me of old and hired me to be the school's nurse after I completed my first year of practice elsewhere. That was just four years ago. I remember quite well a young student, a singer in the school's advanced choir, who seemed to be pining away for a certain blonde a year her senior…though she hid it well," she said with a smiling glance over her shoulder at the now stunned Shizuka.

"During my years here, and all the way through Lillian U, I spent many hours playing the piano. It not only kept my hands and fingers flexible and sharp, it also gave me an outlet for certain…emotions that would not have been overly acceptable at an all-girls school."

Shizuka walked over and took a seat on the bench next to the older woman.

"That singer interested me more than any other student I ever encountered although I almost never had any interaction with her," she grinned at the young woman seated beside her. "How are your vocal chords? You're not over-stressing them like you did in your second year?"

"They're fine," Shizuka smiled. "I knew that a certain nurse would come after me if I didn't take proper care of myself," she chuckled. Sadako grinned and nodded.

"I've always made it a rule never to get involved with the students. It would only lead to problems and eventual heartbreak." Without missing a beat she switched from the _Carmen_ to Neil Sedaka's _Breaking Up Is Hard To Do_. "Not that there were really any students that overly interested me," she smirked with a glance to see Shizuka looking affronted. She laughed. "Well, all except for that one singer. She was only about six years younger than me," she glanced over to see Shizuka nod her head in agreement, "but she only had eyes for that certain blonde," she sighed dramatically and Shizuka giggled.

"I heard that that blonde fell deeply in love with another," the songstress said softly, a wistful smile on her lips, "but they're happy together and so the singer became content just becoming the blonde's friend."

The music changed again, this time to Aerosmith's _I Don't Want To Miss a Thing_, and a seductive look came into Inoue-sensei's eyes.

"So the songstress is, how do I say this, now open to other possibilities?" Sadako grinned.

"I'm not sure," Shizuka grinned back shyly. "The songstress has a certain type of girl in mind, much like that certain blonde, but maybe even _more_ of a dirty old man?" she giggled.

"Hmm, I wonder if we know anyone like that?" Sadako smirked and changed the song she was playing once again, this time to Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3.

"You have quite the range, Inoue-sensei," Shizuka laughed.

"What can I say, it's one of my…many talents," she leered, licking her lips slowly and delightedly seeing a shiver run through the diva.

"I…I'll have to sample some of those…talents…one of these days," Shizuka grinned seductively.

"How long are you here for?" Sadako grinned.

"Just the spring semester," the black haired girl sighed. "I'm teaching the Advanced Voice class as well as providing a little tutoring on the side. At least I'm also getting credit for it at my school in Rome," she went on, inadvertently reminding both of them that their time together was limited.

"And after you graduate?" Sadako asked quietly.

"I haven't made up my mind," Shizuka admitted. "I want to perform, and in front of as many different audiences as possible, but I haven't decided where I'm going to set up my base yet."

"Hmm," the nurse grinned, "then maybe someone will have to tempt you somehow."

"I'm looking forward to it," Shizuka grinned back.

Being the younger of the two, and usually the more reticent given her past history, Shizuka surprised both herself and Sadako by leaning in and stealing a quick kiss from the soft, luscious lips that she'd been unable to keep her eyes from. The kiss wasn't long given its spur-of-the-moment nature, but it sent flashes of heat through both women.

"M-me too," Sadako whispered softly before moving in and stealing her kiss back again.


	17. Chapter 17

Hideki Matsumoto, Director of the Rainbow Fund for Acceptance and Tolerance, walked into the sole conference room at the charity's headquarters in downtown Tokyo to find himself facing six visitors; four young women and two young men. All but one of them appeared to be of college age while the last appeared to be still in high school. Although they were young they each held themselves in such a manner as to project significantly more maturity and confidence than he was used to seeing in people their age. The group had been seated around the table partaking of the tea his secretary had offered them, but they rose to stand as he entered the room in a show of respect. Impressed but still a bit confused, he glanced at his secretary but she surreptitiously shrugged her shoulders, not knowing any more than he did as to the desires of his visitors.

"Please, everyone, be seated," he offered as he moved to his normal chair at the head of the table. One of the young ladies, the youngest looking one that still looked no older than a second-year high schooler, took her seat and placed a pad, pen, and a voice recorder on the table. He noted that despite the artfully handled makeup there was some significant bruising and scratches on her face and arms while one arm was in a sling and cast. He wondered what her story was. Indicating the voice recorder with a small finger she gave him a questioning glance and he nodded, providing her his permission to turn it on. "When my secretary indicated that there was someone from another charity that wished to meet with me, she wasn't able to tell me much; not even the organization's name."

"I want to apologize for acting so clandestine with regards to the meeting Matsumoto-sama," the second youngest looking of the group, a young woman, spoke up which surprised him a bit although he was shrewd enough not to let it show on his face. "My name is Fukuzawa Yumi and I have the pleasure of being the Director of the Rose Foundation." At that bit of news he lost the studied control of his features.

"Fukuzawa-sama!" he gasped. "I've heard of you and your foundation of course! You're one the bright, rising stars in our world. I couldn't believe when you got the Diet to pass the necessary laws regarding the new Inoue Pharmaceuticals breasts. That was nothing short of miraculous!"

"I owe it all to my friends here," Yumi nodded with a deprecating smile as she indicated the others around the table. "If I might introduce you," she went around the table, introducing Sachiko (another gasp), Hiromi, Suguru, Tsutako (who Hideki praised as a well-known up and coming photographer) and Alice.

"I of course know of Ogasawara-sama," he nodded to the raven haired woman who returned his recognition, "and the family names of Kashiwagi and Arisugawa, and if I don't miss my guess," he grinned, "Takeda-sama has graced the cover of a recent issue of JElle in a photograph taken by Takashima-sensei. I never miss an issue," he chuckled as Hiromi and Tsutako shared a blush, "but if you don't mind my asking, why is the now famous Fukuzawa-sama wishing to meet with me?"

Yumi blushed at the 'famous' comment but worked to control herself quickly. "Please, use of our first names is more than enough. It is my greatest hope that we will soon become friends as well as partners. You see, Sachiko has wisely pointed out to me that we are still too small and too new to take on some of the issues that you and your organization have made a part of your mission." Hideki nodded in understanding. It had taken him and his family almost twenty years of hard work to garner the honor and reputation necessary for the Rainbow Fund to take on the needs of the LGBT community. In contrast, despite their birth only a few short years ago, the Rose Foundation was approximately where he and his organization were only five short years ago. And even without factoring the strength of the Ogasawara name into the mix, most if not all of the Rose Foundation's reputation and honor were due solely to the young woman sitting across the table from him. "But that doesn't mean that I want to simply sit on the sidelines while others fight the good fight on behalf of me and my friends. It is my hope that we," she nodded at those around the table, "and the Rose Foundation can become somewhat of a silent partner in your crusade; at least until such time as we can publicly add the issues of the LGBT community to our own Mission Statement."

Yumi reached down into her book bag and withdrew a folder to place it on the table in front of her as Alice took a similar folder and arose from her seat to place it in front of Hideki. "I took the liberty of having Hiromi-kun put together a draft of a business plan for your review," she slowed to a stop as she noted Hideki slowly shaking his head. Her heart fell as did her chin. "I'm sorry if we're too small to be able to help much…"

"Oh, no! Fukuzawa-sama," Hideki spoke up sharply with concern. "My sincerest apologies. My shaking my head wasn't saying that we couldn't work together…it was because I don't need to see the business plan! I would be a fool to turn down the Rose Foundation's and your support!" Yumi's returning smile lit the room. "I mean no insult Sachiko-sama," he said with a slightly worried look to the taller woman as the anger that had suffused her sapphire eyes slowly faded, "but even more than the Ogasawara name, the name of Fukuzawa Yumi and the Rose Foundation, in our world, is almost tantamount to…to," he fumbled for an appropriate simile, "to Inare in Shinto." He didn't bother to comment on the sudden blush and shyness in Yumi's eyes assuming it was because of his praise. He wouldn't have understood or even believed the real reason anyway. "I would be honored to work with you and the Foundation, even as 'clandestine' partners."

"Th-thank you, Matsumoto-sama," Yumi sweetly smiled.

"Please, just call me Hideki."

"Then, you can please just call me Yumi, Hideki-san," Yumi beamed.

"Of course Yumi-sama," the older man blushed.

You could see the smoke coming from Yumi's ears, but Sachiko put a gentling hand on Yumi's arm.

"Brick wall, Yumi," she giggled.

-oo-

"That went better than I expected," Hiromi chuckled as the group from the Rose Foundation trooped out of the Rainbow Fund's headquarters and to the waiting limo that Sachiko had arranged for them from the Ogasawara fleet.

Yumi, unfortunately, was still pouting. "'Sama,' 'sama,' why can't anyone call me 'san' these days…or even 'chan' or 'kun.' I think I'd like 'kun'," she was muttering under her breath.

"The perils of earning people's respect, my love," Sachiko told her petite soeur while trying unsuccessfully to keep the smile off her lips. "You'll get used to it.

"But I don't _want_ to get used to it," Yumi whined softly only to hear her partner start to chuckle and then to giggle and then finally to laugh out loud in that wonderful bell-like laughter that she normally loved to hear…but not right now.

"Oneeee-saaaamaaa," she whined even louder. All it earned her was more laughter from the others. Sachiko put her arm around the pigtailed girl's shoulders and pulled her into a hug.

After some further discussion and cajoling, Hideki had finally agreed to go over the business plan that Yumi had brought with her and had been impressed by its vision and simple, straight forward and eminently achievable goals. While it's great to set the bar high and aim for the sky, it's also sensible to set intermediate goals that are already somewhat within reach.

As of today, same-sex sexual activities have been legal in Japan since the late 1800s although various prefectures, wards and municipalities place restrictions on the sexual interactions between adults and children under the age of seventeen. The members of the Rose Foundation found no issues with those restrictions given that they were there for the protection of the children. Gays are also able to serve in the military, but it is mostly due to the lack of the military having a specific policy regarding homosexuals. As far as they are concerned, if it doesn't affect the soldiers' performance then an individual's right to privacy is not to be infringed. More recently the government has allowed transsexuals to legally change their gender, but only after sex reassignment surgery and they must be unmarried and childless.

Discrimination against LGBTQ individuals is much less certain. Some local governments have enacted anti-discrimination regulations for housing and employment, but national laws covering discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity do not exist. This stems primarily from the Japanese culture of essentially ignoring the existence of homosexuality within its borders. If it doesn't exist, then laws to regulate it or protect the rights of homosexuals are not required. Only within the last decade have some rights been afforded the LGBTQ community. A form of domestic partnership exists that provides some of the same rights to domestic partners as are enjoyed by legally recognized spouses, mostly in relation to inheritance and asset rights as well as medical decisions and authorizations, but the government has yet to move to allow or recognize same sex marriage except in the case of where Japanese citizens marry foreign same-sex partners in countries that allow for such marriages.

Therefore, the members of the Rose Foundation, in connection with the Rainbow Fund, the Shoguji Temple and Shrine, the Igusa Hachimangu Shinto Shrine, and the Shunkoin Buddhist Temple which in June of 2011 performed same-sex wedding ceremonies in recognition of LGBT Month in the United States, had agreed to work closely together to promote smaller steps of advancement. Specifically, the enactment of national anti-discrimination laws and recognition of same-sex marriages of two Japanese citizens, both of which they felt were achievable within a five year period if they worked hard at it. While the Foundation would support these activities "behind the scenes" by volunteering time but not money – Yumi felt it would be wrong to use Foundation donations for activities that the donators were unaware of – they would work publically with the Rainbow Fund on the sister issue of pushing the Diet for national anti-bullying laws and regulations. Everyone felt that this was such a universal problem within the country, and not tied solely to the LGBTQ community, that working publically with the Rainbow Fund and other charitable organizations and committees on the issue would not cause any publicity problems or harm their image.

"You did very well today Yumi," Sachiko told her as she held her love close and placed a soft kiss on her temple. "I'm proud of you."

"It was all Hiromi-kun's and Alice-chan's ideas. It was the two of them that thought of taking baby steps rather than trying to run the entire marathon," Yumi told her onee-sama.

"But you were the one that presented it. You were the one Hideki-san was constantly looking to. Not me. Not Hiromi-kun or Suguru-kun. Only you. He was right. You have earned your place in the world of charity organizations through your hard work and determination to help others." The raven haired girl sighed and then smiled down at the smaller, pigtailed girl. "I know that you don't like it when people call you 'Fukuzawa-sama' or 'Yumi-sama,' but only because you don't believe that you've done anything that would earn such respect from others." Yumi looked up at her wide-eyed and Sachiko had to smile before her eyes turned serious again. "You know, all my life I've been called 'Ogasawara-sama' or 'Sachiko-sama' or 'Ojou-sama' not because of anything I'd done to earn it, but solely because of my family name. I know I have some fairly decent accomplishments in my life, but none that I consider so great as to have earned that honor.

"You however, my young lady," she grinned as Yumi started shaking her head already knowing what was to come. She grabbed hold of Yumi's chin and forced the younger girl to look her in the eye. "You went from an average student to one of the top in your class at an extremely hard and demanding school. You were one of the very best Rosa Chinensis' in its history according to the students as well as the teachers and administrators. You worked hard to receive early admittance into another highly difficult and selective university, but none of that earned you the honorific of 'sama'. No, it was your work for the Foundation. It hasn't even been a year yet, but look at everything you have accomplished."

"But it was you all that did it," she argued as she looked at those around her, seeing only smiles as they all seemed to be echoing what her girlfriend was saying.

"It was your vision, your desire and drive, your dedication that made the Rose Foundation what it is today," Hiromi told her. "Yes, we helped, but it was under your guidance. You are our Captain and Navigator. Everything that we have accomplished has been at your direction and, usually, with you working yourself literally sick to get it done."

"I have to agree with Sachan," Suguru sighed. "As much as it pains me to do so. Ow!" He grimaced from the sharp elbow to the side that Alice gave him and then grinned. "Even more so than I," he went on with his patented smirk but then lost that look and turned a serious and almost loving eye on her, "you, Yumi-chan, through your own hard work and diligence, your love and caring for others, have earned the honor of being called 'sama'."

"But I'm still just a first-year…well, soon to be second-year university student," she argued only to see them all shake their heads at her with smiles on all their faces.

"Age has nothing to do with it Yumi-sama," Alice told her with a grin. "You earned my honor and respect the first time you treated me the way I wanted to be treated…long before any others did," she looked pointedly at Suguru who had the intelligence and wit to take her hand and lift it to his lips to place a small kiss on her fingers. "For that you will always have my eternal gratitude and respect. When I'm old and grey and feeding this one baby food because he's lost all his teeth and it's all his tender stomach will stand," she grinned back at Suguru who looked totally offended and then chuckled, "I will still think of you as my honored sempai."

"So you see love," Sachiko told the still pouting but somewhat, for the first time, understanding girl, "of all of us, it is you that has most earned the right to be called 'sama'."

"Hmph! Fine!" Yumi groused, crossing her arms over her chest. "But not from my friends!" she told the others who simply smiled at her no-nonsense voice.

"Fine, although I doubt you'll ever get Alice-chan to say differently," Tsutako smiled at the young girl still holding Suguru's hand, "we'll just call you 'Yumi.' Is that all right?"

"Not 'kun'?" Yumi grinned, earning herself a slight head slap from her girlfriend and life partner.

"Just Yumi," Tsutako said with a grin even though they'd moved beyond honorifics already. "Is that all right?"

"That's fine Tsutako," Yumi smiled.

-oo-

"YOU KISSED HER?" Shimako squealed in both shock and delight. She had been trying out her new Skype account, simply sharing her day with Shizuka and vice versa when the soprano had let the bomb drop that she'd actually kissed Sadako Inoue, the school nurse at Lillian.

"Believe me Shimako-chan, no one is more surprised than I am," the black haired beauty whose appearance was currently sitting on the monitor of Shimako's new laptop laughed lightly and shook her head. "Sitting here now I can't believe the audacity it must have taken to do that, but something came over me and I just couldn't help myself. She was being her usual, teasing self and…by the way, did you know she plays piano beautifully!"

"Stick to the story, Shizuka-sama," Shimako chided her beloved sempai with a mock frown.

"All right, all right," the dark brown-eyed girl laughed. She took a breath. "As I was saying, Sadako-san was being her usual teasing self, but there was a kind of vulnerability and loneliness about her that she couldn't seem to hide as well as she usually can. You know, I don't think she's been in any kind of serious relationship since her college days!"

"Hmm, well, it's not like I keep tabs on her," Shimako said thoughtfully, "but I certainly don't remember her being involved with anyone while we were in school. And she hasn't said anything since she started working more directly with the Foundation about having anyone in her life. I mean, we met her father and he's certainly nice enough, but she's never shown any interest in or spoken about anyone important to her."

Shizuka was nodding. "I was a second-year student at Lillian when she arrived. You would have been a first-year. She said she'd only been out of Lillian University for a year when she was hired as the school nurse. As dedicated she is to her calling, and despite her 'dirty old man' teasing, I doubt that she's had much in the way of a relationship since she graduated from high school herself. You should have seen the surprise in her eyes when I kissed her. For a moment I think she forgot to keep her shields up. The loneliness and desperation I saw in her eyes nearly broke my heart. Then she recovered herself and stole her kiss back," the older girl blushed in embarrassment.

"SHE KISSED YOU!" Shimako shrieked again, but this time Shizuka could hear and see the teasing in her kohai's eyes even through the webcam.

"I see Sei has been having a bad influence on you, Shimako-chan," she laughed.

"What can I say," Shimako smirked, "I certainly never claimed to be an angel. That was everyone else projecting their own hopes and desires on me. Yes, I did my best and wore my masks to meet their expectations," her eyes got somewhat dreamy, "but my eventual release from my chrysalis was more Noriko's doing than onee-sama's. She always seemed to see the real me no matter how hard I tried to hide."

"And a very cute butterfly you turned out to be," Shizuka chuckled, causing Shimako's cheeks to flush.

"Thank you," the blonde murmured in embarrassment. "So, have you decided to pursue a relationship with Sadako-sensei?" Shimako asked in an obvious attempt to turn the subject away from herself. The diva sighed.

"I don't know. I'm only here until the summer break and then it's back to Rome, and I'll be pretty busy between the two classes I'm taking at the Musashino Academy of Music and the Advanced Choir course I'm teaching at Lillian, but," she smiled shyly, "there's just something about her that tugs at my heartstrings. I think there really could be something there."

"You've only got two more years in school and then you'll really be starting your singing career," Shimako pointed out. "Isn't it possible that you could establish your home here rather than in Europe?"

"I said the same thing to Sadako-sensei," the black haired girl nodded. "but I haven't given it much thought since it _is_ two years away. I'm already performing in Rome every so often, and more offers keep coming in, so I've established at least a small name for myself there. Most Japanese performers do it the other way around; establish their name here in Japan and then try to break into the European market. I won't have to do that if I keep performing on at least a semi-regular basis over the next two years. Still," she shook her head.

"Shizuka-sama," the angel smiled softly, "how often do you get a chance to find someone to love and who will love you in return? You've spoken about how lonely Sadako-sensei is, but what of yourself? How often have you told me in your letters that you just want to find that one person that you can share the rest of your life with? Don't lose this opportunity to at least see if the two of you have true feelings for each other."

"You're right, you're right," Shizuka sighed.

"Besides," Shimako giggled, "even if it turns out she's not the love of your life, you can at least have some _fun_ while you're here."

Rosa Canina blushed and laughed. "I see that I'm definitely going to have to talk to Sei about being less of a dirty old man around you, Shimako-chan. She's definitely starting to rub off on you."

Shimako chuckled, thinking that it wasn't so much her onee-sama as her mother that was being such a bad influence on her.

-oo-

Alice wrapped a large towel around her before stepping out of the shower. She walked over to the mirror and wiped away the steam, liking the small changes she could already see in her reflection. It had only been a few weeks since she'd begun taking the estrogen supplements her doctor had prescribed for her, and it might only be her imagination, but she thought that even in such a short time her skin looked a little softer, a little clearer. Most of the changes in her body wouldn't start showing up for a couple of months yet, but she knew she could expect her hips to broaden, her body hair to lessen, her skin to become softer and smoother…and her very own breasts would start to develop. Just the thought made her giddy and she giggled.

"What's so funny?" Suguru asked through the partially closed bathroom door from where he was sitting at her dressing table looking over the various types, styles and colors of makeup she had gotten out in order to get ready for their date.

"Nothing," Alice had chuckled her reply, "just imagining the future."

Suguru had shown up a bit earlier than originally expected so that he could spend some time speaking with her parents and little sister. Unfortunately her parents had already left for their own evening of fun while her sister had gone out with some friends to see a movie, which left the two alone in the large home if you discounted the butler and maid. Feeling a bit adventurous, and not a little bit naughty, she'd invited him up to her room to wait for her while she finished getting ready. Her butler had at least waited until Suguru had passed him before he gave her a knowing grin and waggled his eyebrows. She'd laughed at his antics which had only confused the poor boy that was her date for the evening.

"Hopefully I'm in there somewhere," Suguru said softly but loud enough for her to hear. She loved how the normally overly-confident man seemed to melt when in her presence and allowed that small, sometimes much less confident boy to show through the cracks in his perfect seeming facade. Alice pulled her towel more tightly around her before walking out and up behind him so that she could put her arms around him and place a small, light kiss on top of his head.

"Of course," she whispered with a smile on her lips. "Now close your eyes like the good and proper gentleman you are so I can get dressed," she giggled.

"If you remember correctly, I saw you undressed your first year at Hanadera for…I'm not sure which event it was," he said, his forehead creasing in thought as he grinned.

"That was then and this is now," Alice chided him gently as she rapped a knuckle on the same place she'd just kissed, "or do I have to evict you?"

"I'll be good," the older man laughed as he closed his eyes, or at least appeared to.

Alice chuckled. It wasn't like he'd get to see anything anyway. There were at least a few tricks she'd learned from her sister as they grew up together. Instead of dropping her towel she picked up the skirt she'd planned on wearing that evening and slipped it on over top of the towel. She continued basically dressing over top of that terrycloth covering until she felt covered enough that she could pull it off from underneath her skirt. In not much more time than it would have taken her normally, she was fully dressed and her modesty had been completely maintained.

When she sat on her bed to pull on her hose she turned her head to glance at the beautiful man that was taking her out to dinner this evening and then to a club for a bit of dancing. She was a bit surprised to see his shoulders shaking with his suppressed laughter and she pursed her lips in annoyance. Those shoulders told her that his eyes had been somewhat less closed than he'd tried to appear. She probably should have berated him again for being such a cad, but she couldn't help the feelings of sexiness and daring that left her feeling flushed when she thought of him wanting to peep at her. Instead of getting angry, she decided she'd get even instead. A wicked grin turned her lips up and her eyes sparked with devilment.

"You can look now," she called to him. Suguru 'opened' his eyes and turned around, opening his mouth to say something smart-alecky. Instead his mouth stayed open and his eyes widened as he watched her slowly and sensuously start to roll a nylon stocking up her shapely left leg, her toes pointed and her short skirt just barely covering the essentials. He was speechless as she rolled it up her slender but muscular calf and over her knee. All the way up her leg she used her fingers and palms to smooth out any wrinkles or creases in a sensual dance that had his mouth watering and wishing that it was his hands touching those soft looking legs. When she got to the top of her thigh she inched the side of the skirt up just a touch more so that he could see how the back of her leg flowed into a the roundness of her bottom. At which point he realized that the front of his black dress pants felt way too tight, a film of sweat had broken out on his brow and he found that he having difficulty catching his breath. He literally shuddered at the sound of the snap of elastic as she settled the thigh-highs into their final resting place.

"Problems Suguru?" Alice asked with an arched brow and a gleam in her eye that told him she knew just exactly what she was doing to him. Still, all he could do was shake his head as she stretched out her right leg and started repeating the performance.

Somehow Suguru knew that it was going to be a very long (but very pleasurable) evening.


	18. Chapter 18

"Yumi, you need to come to bed," Sachiko told her lover with a soft sigh as she leaned against the door frame to their shared study. It was already pushing midnight and they both had nine o'clock classes in the morning. Yumi was crouched over her laptop typing away, her eyes focused intensely on the gently glowing screen. From where she stood Sachi could see that she was working on a document, not a spreadsheet or drawing. She'd purchased and presented Yumi with a separate desktop computer with a sixty cm monitor for her architectural drawings and layouts so the girl wouldn't strain her eyes so much. That left the laptop for the more mundane chores of spreadsheets, reports and presentations. Yumi's eyes never left the screen as she replied.

"I'll be in in just a minute," she said as if on autopilot. "I just have this last little bit to finish."

Sachiko sighed and walked over to see what her partner thought was so important. Reading over her shoulder it was fairly easy to see that what she was working on had nothing to do with schoolwork. Instead it was a report to the Foundation's contributors of the things they were doing and their plans for the future. Yumi typically wrote these monthly reports just to keep their faithful informed as well as to keep the Foundation's name in front of them. It was almost a small newsletter more than a report, with various articles of what was going on. There were no bylines so the readers had no clue that Yumi herself wrote most of the articles. The publication wasn't required or even necessary. It was just something Yumi had thought would be nice to do.

The raven haired girl felt the heat of anger begin to flare up but she purposely tamped it down where it continued to smolder. She reached over Yumi's shoulder and used the laptop's touch pad to move the cursor and then hit save.

"Wait, Sachi! What are you…"

"You're done for the night," Yumi. She told the girl sternly. "That newsletter doesn't have to be done tonight or even this week. You've been spending so much time working with Hideki-san on the anti-bullying bill in addition to everything you usually do at the Foundation and for school that you've started missing meals again and I can't remember the last time we went to bed at the same time. You're doing it again. Working yourself too hard, neglecting your health," she gulped, not realizing that the volume of her voice had started going up or that tears had begun to seep from the corners of her eyes as she clutched her arms around herself tightly, her fingernails digging into her arms almost hard enough to draw blood. She was shaking just as much as her voice when she whispered the words that more than anything else about the obviously upset girl went straight to Yumi's heart, "neglecting me," the blue-eyed girl wept.

Yumi was out of her chair and holding her lover in her arms before the next teardrop fell. The feel of those strong, loving arms around her breached the last vestige of Sachi's control as she released the sobs she'd been holding inside of her, allowing them to echo throughout the apartment. The shorter girl knew just how hard it was for Sachiko to truly let her feelings of hurt and betrayal show, so for her to break down like this made Yumi feel even worse. And she realized that Sachiko was right. She couldn't remember what the two of them had had for dinner let alone what she'd eaten for lunch or if she'd even had lunch. She'd slipped over from school to RMII to take a look at the latest draft of the bill they planned on presenting to one of their more friendly Diet members and couldn't remember if she'd touched the food or tea that Alice had set by her elbow. She also couldn't remember the last time she'd fallen asleep in her lover's arms let alone made love to her. Yumi had quickly been working herself into another bout of pneumonia or worse and she had no one else to blame but herself. But what tore her up inside was the fact that she'd been neglecting the girl that meant more to her than her own life.

"I'm so sorry Sachi," she wept, her own tears joining those of her lover's, her fingers entangling themselves in her silken black hair as Sachiko buried her face in Yumi's neck to try to stifle the sound of her crying, "you're right. I've been so focused on everything else that I'd lost sight of what was most important to me. Of _who_ was most important to me. I can't tell you how sorry I am."

"Then don't," the raven haired girl said through her tears. "Don't tell me. Show me!" those sapphire eyes demanded as ruby red lips sought and found pink lips, pressing against them with a desperate need that had been held in abeyance for far too long.

Yumi reciprocated passion for passion, her lips hungrily devouring those of her love. She opened her mouth only slightly but it was enough for her lover to do the same as tongues met and curled around one another. All thoughts of guilt or blame fled from the flames that leapt and danced between the two. The newsletter was forgotten as was the computer as Sachiko's arms snaked around her neck, pulling her even closer. There was passion beyond compare, but there was also love and tenderness in the way that they held each other and listened to each other's bodies and hearts, feeding and feasting together.

Sachiko was swept up in the brown haired girl's arms, the time Yumi spent at the gym providing more than enough strength to carry her lover from the study and to the bed that they shared, their lips never separating. Even as Yumi laid her lover gently on the comforter their lips remained locked. Only after the two of them were resting together on the bed did Yumi break away so that she could begin separating Sachi from her clothes. The blue-eyed girl had put on the pajamas that Yumi had given her, a white cotton set with a pattern of periwinkle blue flowers that she thought brought out the vibrant blue of her lover's eyes. Those eyes now looked up at her with a hunger that burned and sent a shiver down her spine. It still amazed her that this beautiful woman wanted her, wanted to be with her, just as much as she wanted to be with Sachiko. She was sure that her own consuming hunger for the girl beneath her was shining from her own eyes. She smiled to see Sachi panting for only her.

The five buttons of Sachiko's pajama top slowly but surely surrendered to her dexterous fingers, her smile growing as her lover whimpered at how slow she was going, but she had decided that she wasn't going to rush this. Sachi deserved better than a simple, quick romp in the hay. She'd neglected her partner long enough. Tonight was all for her. Lips followed fingers as they slowly moved from button to button – first a kiss and nibble on her collarbone, then to the small hollow of her neck, a tongue flicking out to taste the soft, tender skin before moving on down her breastbone – taking her time to enjoy every moment of anticipation.

She felt Sachi's skin shiver and watched as goose bumps flowed behind where her fingers barely grazed her love's skin as she gently teased the edges of her pajama top to the side to reveal two of the most perfect breasts she'd ever seen, rising and falling in quick succession in time with her lover's panting breaths. The dark buds atop those breasts were hard and erect, swollen with the proof of their owner's desire. Yumi's own breath hitched at the sight, her own heartbeat nearly doubling and she couldn't stop her fingers from drawing soft lines from the older girl's sides up to the base of those luscious breasts. Sachiko moaned when she saw Yumi lick her lips and her soft brown eyes glazed over with lust.

Yumi shook her head and refocused, a smirk touching her lips as she leaned over ever so slowly to place another soft, chaste kiss on her lover's collarbone, beginning her dance all over again. Sachi lifted her chin, inviting a further exploration of that soft, tender skin while the palms of Yumi's hands lovingly caressed her breasts. A mew of desire started low in the older girl's throat, escaping as a low groan. The brown-eyed girl's lips and teeth kissed and nipped their way from Sachiko's collarbone up her neck to her ear, her tongue soothing the small bites she left in her wake. Her lips captured and sucked on the lobe of Sachi's ear, eliciting another low moan as her fingertips found and tweaked the hard buds beneath her hands. The gasp from her love was like the sweetest symphony.

From her ear, Yumi moved back down her neck to her collarbone, and then even further layering kiss after kiss and nip after nip on her way to those swollen buds. Once again she had to chide herself from moving too quickly as her lips and tongue danced around every centimeter of soft, heated skin but where Sachi most wanted her. She grinned into her kisses as she heard the whimpers start up again as she continued to tease her partner. Sachiko's hands fisted the comforter as she arched her back, pushing her chest up in an attempt to get Yumi to go where she wanted her, but Yumi simply backed off with her, chuckling under her breath which set up a resonance in her lover's chest that earned her another, louder moan.

In the meantime her hands had not been idle. Just as her lips had moved further down her lover's body, so too did her hands move from breasts to sides and then to skim over the soft, sensitive skin of Sachiko's stomach to begin playing with what they found just beneath the drawstring waistband of her capri length pajama pants.

"Yumi, please!" Sachi begged.

"I have to make up for lost time," Yumi grinned. "Prepare yourself for a long night love," she smirked as her fingers delved a little further beneath those pajama pants to just barely flick the top of the soft down she found. That satisfying symphony sounded again and Yumi kissed and licked her way down her lover's stomach, paying particular attention to her bellybutton, before her teeth gathered the drawstring between them. As she slowly pulled back to untie the loose bow she glanced up to see sapphire eyes watching her every move, a small smile on those lusciously swollen lips even as lust and desire overflowed from the dusky orbs.

She knew she was probably taking far too long in Sachiko's opinion, but Yumi was truly relishing the sights and sounds, the movements and squeaks, the moans and groans, the begging and pleading she was drawing from her lover. But once she tasted of the sweet nectar she had forgotten she craved she knew she was lost. Moans and groans turned to cries and then screams as fingers threaded through her hair, yanking, tugging and pushing her harder and further into that sweet honey even as hips thrust upward, burying her in treasure until she was rewarded by the sweetest of ambrosias.

Minutes or hours later, as the two lay side-by-side, reveling in the afterglow of their exertions, holding each other softly as hands continued to gently rub sore and abused muscles Yumi heard a low chuckle.

"Hmm?' she asked, not even wanting to pry open her aching jaw to give voice to her question.

"I was just thinking," Sachi smiled into her love's unfocused eyes, "that something tells me we're going to be late for class tomorrow."

Yumi couldn't help but join in her soft laughter.

-oo-

In the meantime, in a small one bedroom cottage just down the street from their apartment, two other young women were similarly entwined within each other's arms, each just as delightfully sore and aching as Yumi and Sachiko and for the very same reasons.

"Th-that was," Shizuka sighed, unable to voice just how 'Wow' the previous hour's exertions had been.

"I'm glad," Sadako grinned as she ran a gentle hand from the diva's naked hip, up her arm to her shoulder and then back down to slide their fingers together. "It's been so long, I was afraid I'd forgotten how."

"Believe me, even as inexperienced as I am in these things, I can't imagine it getting any better than this," Shizuka giggled.

"Oh, it can be better," the Lillian nurse chuckled lowly. "I kind of rushed things a bit since I'm out of practice and, frankly, because you just seem to bring out the tiger in me. I promise next time to take it much slower."

The black haired girl purred and cuddled closer, laying her head on Sadako's soft yet firm breasts, delighting in watching her breath alone bringing those dark buds back to life. "Why does that sound so nice to me?"

"What?" Sadako laughed gently. "Taking it slow?"

"No," Rosa Canina blushed. "Just that there will be a next time."

Dark brown hair drifted over top of her to enclose her in a warm cocoon as well-kissed lips placed a soft kiss on the side of her head. "And a time after that, and a time after that," Sadako intoned with a smile as she punctuated each iteration with a kiss. "For as long as you'll have me," she whispered, surprising even herself with just how right and true the statement felt.

While in middle school and high school Sadako had been what most would call a player, gathering and discarding girls after usually only a few weeks or a month of intimacies. None of the girl's she'd been with had left unhappy. Rather they seemed to believe that at least for that short amount of time they'd been the only one in the young woman's mind and heart. Nor could she honestly gainsay them. Each and every one of the girls she'd been with had been precious to her.

And then, in her senior year, there had been Rin. For the first time in her life she felt that there might actually be something called 'love.' She had been head over heels in love with the dark haired girl that took up every moment of her waking thoughts. Unfortunately the feelings didn't run both ways. Less than two months later she was the one on the other end of the dumping and Rin hadn't been anywhere near as nice about it as Sadako had been with her previous lovers. What she'd thought had been love on Rin's part had instead been only a form of toleration once the initial excitement of a new conquest had passed. The breakup, and the pain, had both been devastating to the younger Sadako. She'd vowed never to do to another what had been done to her and swore off dating for a while.

Once she got into college and discovered her passion for nursing she was able to push any and all thoughts of relationships aside by dedicating herself to her chosen vocation to the point where no one and nothing else could intrude. It made for a very lonely life at Lillian University, but she had eventually graduated at the top of her class with multiple job offers waiting for her once she received her diploma. She'd spent a year at Tokyo General, rising quickly to the top in the minds of her superiors and the doctors she'd supported before being tapped by Kaori-sensei to take on the responsibility of caring for each and every one of the girls at Lillian Girls' Academy.

Nor did her new duties really encourage her to establish a love life for herself. Her days started extremely early and stretched long into the evenings given the students' penchant for staying late at club activities. Those tired students also had a tendency to injure themselves just because they were tired from a long day, requiring the school nurse to spend even longer hours completing all the necessary paperwork even after her patient had been released from her care.

And those students. She'd promised herself she'd never, ever cross the line and take advantage of her situation. It hadn't always been easy, especially when a certain young singer came to her complaining of a sore throat. She'd never before been so drawn to another girl even during her ferociously infamous dating years. Not only was she beautiful, she was charming, sweet, caring, and had a maturity about her that was years older than any seventeen year old she'd ever met. It had killed her to touch that soft skin in only a professional manner, but she'd never once broken her vow and she didn't intend to do so with this girl no matter how much her heart wanted to.

It had doubly killed Sadako to learn that the singer was interested in someone else, another girl just a year older than herself, but the nurse had turned aside knowing that it was for the best. She was already so much older than the girl, let alone a member of the school staff. She'd told herself that she'd never had a chance in the first place no matter how much her heart was trying to tell her otherwise.

To have that same girl, a woman now, resting in her arms after a fierce bout of lovemaking…she would have had to pinch herself to ensure that she wasn't dreaming but there had been enough love bites shared between the two, along with even greater feelings when they climaxed simultaneously, to assure her that this was no dream. Nor would her heart allow her to give up this chance again. She'd been forced to let her go once before, and their time together even now was limited before the songstress had to pack up once again and head back to Rome. This time, however, she was determined that the woman that left her would do so only with the greatest of reluctance and regrets and then only because she had to, not because she wanted to.

Sadako knew that Shizuka had to return to Rome to finish her schooling as well as establish her own career, but she vowed to do everything she could in the few months that they had together to ensure that the diva came back to her. She wouldn't let this chance slip away. Not again.

"For as long as you'll have me Shizuka," she whispered for a second time while placing another kiss on that silky hair.

"Mmm," Shizuka smiled as her hand moved back up to cup the warm breast in front of her dark brown eyes. "I think I like the sound of that as well," she murmured as she tweaked the little bud that had perked up for her. She also liked the quick sound of an intake of breath that came from her lover's throat as a result of her actions. She liked that a lot. She also liked the warm feelings flowing through her that had absolutely nothing to do with sex. She thought she liked those even more. In fact, she might even love them, but she thought it was too early to say anything about that. At least not aloud.

She hoped that the feelings were mutual. She thought that they might be, but she wasn't going to say anything to hurt her chances. Not this early in the relationship. But she somehow had the feeling that she'd be setting up her home base here in Japan rather than in Europe. That thought brought a smile to her lips, lips she used to draw that bud closer to her, earning herself another gasp of pleasure that made her grin.

-oo-

Nor were those two couples the only ones seemingly moved to more amorous adventures that night. In the apartment above Yumi and Sachiko, and most likely as a result of the moans and screams filtering softly through the poured concrete floor, Hiromi and Tsutako found themselves at first laughing at their friends and then following in their footsteps.

In her dorm room at Lillian, Sei was on the phone with Youko since they couldn't be together physically. However, that didn't stop them from having one of the very best episodes of phone sex they'd ever had.

On the other side of town two Hanadera U students finally fell asleep in their separate bedrooms only to meet one another in the same dream although they didn't realize it at the time. Alice lost her virginity that night, at least virtually, while Suguru found that nothing he'd ever experienced or imagined could compare to the feeling of truly making love with the one you adore above all others.

A little further away, just on the outskirts of town in one of Tokyo's most famous dojos, screams of "KYAAAAA" were heard emanating from a young black haired woman's bedroom. The other family members that still lived at the dojo had long ago learned to wear earplugs whenever a certain young woman with long auburn hair and beautiful blue-green eyes spent the night with Nana-chan. It also didn't hurt that each and every one of them always had the most wonderful, and pleasurable, dreams themselves on those evenings.

And much further away, well out into the countryside, a Japanese doll and a Western doll came together in an act that pleased not only themselves, but the gods as well.

-oo-

Even further away, in a hospital in the foothills of the mountains a couple of hours away by train, two young people snuggled close together in one of the hospital's private suites reserved for staff use. Classes were long over as was Touko's and Noriko's graduation ceremony. As a belated graduation gift to herself Touko had worked it out with her very understanding grandfather for her and Yuuki to spend a little quality time together in the last few days before school started up again. Much to her parents' and grandfather's delight Touko had been accepted into the Tokyo Women's Medical University in Shinjuku where she intended to get her medical degree.

Once again she had surprised her parents with her continuing dedication to her lifelong dream of taking over her grandfather's hospital not only as an administrator, but as a doctor as well. While she loved to act, she had never considered it as a possible replacement for what she truly wanted in her life. By taking over the hospital and keeping it in the family she felt that she would be, in some small way, repaying her family for all of the love and caring they had showered on her since that tragic day so long ago. The fact that she absolutely loved working with the staff and the patients, especially the maternity and pediatric patients, was just a wonderful bonus. To be able to do something she loved while giving back at the same time, how many people could ever achieve such happiness?

Yuuki and Touko had decided that they wanted to spend their free time between school years out at the hospital learning as much as they could from the man that they both loved and who loved them in return. They would be taking an early afternoon train back to Musashino the following day, but right now they were luxuriating in each other's arms after a _very_ satisfying tryst.

"Remind me to thank my petite soeur again for your magical vasectomy, Yuuki," Touko smiled languidly, every single muscle in her body warm and thoroughly relaxed despite the workout the two of them had just completed.

"And your tubal ligation," Yuuki chuckled remembering just how determined his love was to avoid an unwanted pregnancy despite Sakura's assurances that his own procedure was effective enough. The fact that both procedures were one hundred percent effective - and one hundred percent reversible by the same magic that she'd used to 'tie their tubes into hundreds of tiny little knots' - had been enough to make the decision for them to trust the kodama. Yuuki had still been a bit skeptical, but speaking with Hiromi and finding out that the procedure had had no effect on his or Tsutako's pleasure had sealed the deal for Yumi's brother. "Speaking of Sakura, was it my imagination or did I really hear her screaming out around the same time we…"

"You too?" Touko looked up at him with more than a touch of surprise in her eyes. "I thought I was hearing things!"

"I wonder," the young man spoke quietly, not wanting to actually believe what he was thinking, but having already been exposed to her magic he had to think that just about anything was possible.

"Do you think?" Touko asked, a touch of both wonder and surprise in her voice.

"Where that woman is involved I don't know what to think anymore," the brown eyed boy chuckled again.

-oo-

Out at the Igusa Hachimangu Shinto Shrine just outside of Musashino an extremely frustrated (and still virginal!) head miko was sitting out by the koi pond ranting at the fish despite the fact that they could have cared less about or even understood her problems with celibacy.

"I can't believe that woman is getting even stronger than she already was!" she snapped at one particular fish only to have it laugh at her. "Does she even realize what she's doing to the rest of us? I'll bet you, nine months from now there's going to be a run on the maternity wards of every hospital between here and Nagoya!" The brown haired girl sat quietly for a moment to listen, her legs held tightly together in a vain attempt to push back or at least try to ignore the tingling sensation between her legs. She wasn't having very much luck with either given how wet her panties were. "Sure, you can say that, you can screw around whenever you feel like it! What about those of us that don't have that luxury?" she whined loudly, her fingers unconsciously moving toward her center as another wave of libidinous desire washed over the landscape like the crest of a tsunami, the epicenter of the magical quake a small but famous kendo dojo where a black haired girl and her kodama girlfriend were experiencing their third orgasm of the night.

"DAMMIT SAKURA!" Yukiko shrieked into the heavens.

It was going to be a very, _very_ long night.


	19. Chapter 19

It was the largest gathering of education professionals and supporters in the country's history. Almost four hundred thousand people – teachers, principals, administrators, university professors, parents and even students – including representatives from both public and private institutions from pre-school through college and university gathered together under a single banner. Mixed within the crowd were parents tearfully, lovingly, or stoically holding pictures or portraits of their children that had been murdered or committed suicide as a result of being bullied in school; far, far too many. The television cameras that followed the march were frequently focused on one or more of those portraits covered by a black sash or ribbon. The young men and women, boys and girls, shown in those portraits ranged anywhere from seven to twenty-one years of age. When not pointed at those portraits the cameras just as frequently were focused on the faces of the parents of the dead.

The group had assembled earlier that morning at Yoyogi Park, the only public space large enough to hold them all. Speeches were delivered, information imparted as to the events of the day and what they could expect. From the park they marched to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) and then to the National Diet building. More speeches were made along the way at each stop by key people including the Minister of MEXT, prominent Diet members, suffering parents, Sayako Ogasawara, Hideki Matsumoto, Yumi Fukuzawa and many other charity heads, educators and political leaders. At the end of the day the proposed bill, which had been initially drafted by Yumi and Hideki and then tweaked by members of both the Democratic Party of Japan and the Liberal Democratic Party with the assistance and input of many of the minority parties, was simultaneously introduced in both houses of the Diet already containing the signatures of three hundred and seventy-two Representatives and Councilors, more than enough to pass each house.

It was the first time Yumi had used the phone tree of Roses and each and every one of them had come through with flying colors in helping to make phone calls and organizing the rally and march. Within the month the Emperor had signed the Anti-Bullying legislation into law making it illegal to bully any student in any Japanese or foreign run school anywhere within the country. Severe punishments were allotted to bullies of high school age or older. For those of younger age, those same penalties were applied to their parents. The penalties imposed were based on the severity of the bullying and ranged from apologies and restitution to public service to jail time. They also instituted a three-strike rule whereby if a bully was found guilty on three separate occasions then there was a mandatory sentence of time behind bars.

By the end of the first quarter after the law went into effect reported incidents of bullying had dropped by over twenty percent. The first few cases tried in the courts were widely publicized in all media outlets and the perpetrators were made examples of to send a message to all that bullying of any sort would not be tolerated by the Japanese people. By the end of the first year the reported incidents of bullying had fallen by more than forty percent from the previous year. That's not to say that the new laws were a panacea for bullying, but at least it was a grand start. It would take years before they began to see true changes in the belief systems of the Japanese people, but they could at least rest assured that the next generation would be much less tolerant of such behavior than the current one was.

-oo-

"Why does it take a generation or more for people to see what should simply be proper civilized behavior," Yumi sighed. "I just don't understand it."

"Because people grow up based on the way they were raised," Alice shrugged her shoulders. The two of them were sitting in the meeting room of RMII, simply enjoying a few minutes of free time along with a cup of tea before they headed home for the evening. "If your parents raised you to believe that people should be treated with kindness and respect, then that's the way you treat them. If they raised you to believe that you were more important than anyone else, no matter what, then you're more likely to see others as less than yourself and therefore unimportant and it doesn't matter how you treat them. Sometimes a child will break out of the mold through rebellion or by seeing how things are and wishing they were different, but for the most part we follow and build upon what our parents began. That's why peoples and cultures change so slowly, but they do change." The young woman smiled. "At least, that's my own opinion."

"Then I guess we're both lucky to have had parents that raised us the way they did," Yumi returned the other girl's warm smile. She had hated seeing the cast and sling that Alice had had to wear as a result of the assault upon her, but she had come to learn that broken bones eventually healed and casts were removed. Those thugs could have done much worse to her friend. They could have broken Alice's spirit and confidence in herself. She was happy to see that the brown haired girl hadn't allowed that to happen. While Yumi might still disagree on how much influence she had on the building of that spirit and confidence, she was more than glad to have the young woman as a dear friend. "So, what's next on the agenda?" she grinned.

"Absolutely nothing for the next two weeks," Alice chuckled and then giggled at the look of shock on Yumi's face. "I've arranged things such that you and Sachiko-sama can take several days of well-earned rest. The summer break from school is almost over and it has been made known to me that there is a certain beach house down at Sagami Bay that is vacant," she grinned, watching Yumi's eyes light up and her smile growing ever wider. "In fact, the house next door is also vacant and is even larger than Hiromi-kun's. I believe that the vote was unanimous for the entire group of volunteers to hold a beach retreat."

By this time Yumi was dancing around the table and whooping with glee at the prospect of nearly a full week with Sachiko and no duties to get in the way. They'd missed their annual trek up to the Ogasawara summer house due to all the work necessary to prepare for the march and then the follow-up meetings with politicians needed to ensure the anti-bullying bill's passage. While the end result had been worth every hour they'd spent on it, they had all ended up working far too many hours for something that should have been, in Yumi's mind, simple common sense and courtesy.

"I believe Tsutako-san is in the process of packing a few of yours and Sachiko-sama's things," Alice continued laughingly as she watched the pigtailed girl dance. "She was asking me earlier if you would want to take your bikini or your one-piece…or if you preferred sunbathing in the nude given your most recent experiences with Sei-sama," she smirked.

Yumi stopped her dancing and couldn't help the blush that started at the base of her neck and flooded to the roots of her hair at the memory of those sittings. Her initial reaction to Sei's blatantly spurious invitation to sit for the painting had been a very quick and very adamant "no." That is, until she found out about the auction and that all of the proceeds would be donated to charity. She'd suddenly seen an opportunity for her to do more than give lip service to supporting the LGBT community. Here was something concrete, albeit in a small way, that she could do personally to help others like themselves. Without giving it any more thought she'd agreed to sit for the painting much to the older girl's immense surprise and delight.

Sei's mouth had continued its dirty-old-man ways as she went about the artistic process of painting of the portrait while her eyes had told a completely different story. Those dark grey eyes had spent more time on the canvas in front of her than ogling her barely clad model, her brush moving quickly at first and then slowing down to a crawl as she added minute details. Her eyes would only ever so often flick up to take in Yumi's figure before returning to her painting without so much as a single leer or self-satisfied smile. It got to the point where Sachi had felt comfortable enough despite the one-sided lecherous repartee to take a seat in a chair in one corner of the studio and begin to read a romance novel she'd become interested in.

Yumi herself had almost, but never quite, gotten used to being naked in front of the two of them. The fact that Sei would chastise her if she moved too much along with the professional manner in which the blonde had treated her in spite of her lewd banter had allowed her to sometimes forget the situation and even where she was sometimes, let alone the state of undress in which she found herself. When she did remember she just kept telling herself that it was for a good cause.

Sachiko had decided to be a little mean after she'd purchased the finished portrait at the auction. Her raven haired lover had had Yuuki hang the portrait on the wall in the meeting room directly across from the biscuit door so that it was the first thing anyone saw as they entered the room. Yumi couldn't help but blush each and every time she arrived to do a little work even though no one had dared to say a word to her about it. Sachiko had finally taken pity on her poor petite soeur and moved the painting to their apartment where it hung on the wall in the living-room area. She could still feel herself pink up every time Hiromi came down to visit them, but her embarrassment was slowly fading over time. The fact that the painting was an excellent representation of the art, as well as the fact that only a few of her friends actually knew it was her naked form depicted therein, along with the five hundred thousand yen donation to the Rainbow Fund, made getting used to it that much easier.

"I think I've had enough of being naked in front of my friends," Yumi grinned back at the smirking girl. "Although," she allowed her own lips to turn up into a bit of a leer and her eyes sparkled with merriment, "I'd be quite happy to see Alice-chan in a bikini." The sudden rush of blood to the smaller girl's face was a quite satisfying revenge.

"Th-that being said Yumi-sama," Alice stammered cutely as she stood up and gathered the two cups from the table to wash them at the sink, "we're leaving first thing in the morning so," her lips turned up a bit more as she turned her head to watch her sempai's face, "if you don't want to be showing everyone what your mama gave you, you might want to go help Tsutako-san with your packing," she grinned.

Based on their first trip to the Sagami beach house, Yumi figured that Tsutako could very well forget to pack her bathing suit or, even more likely, to only pack the one that Sachi had found and bought for her at one of the little shops in town which wasn't much more than a few centimeters of actual material held together by strings; one of which went right up the crack of her rear end! "I-I think I'd better go help Tsutako-san," Yumi sputtered as she ran from the room to the sound of Alice's laughter.

-oo-

Everyone gathered at the M station early the next morning. Well, almost everybody since Suguru and Alice had left by car the previous evening to make sure that the two houses were ready for occupancy. So those in attendance to board the morning train to Sagami Bay included Yumi and Sachiko, Touko and Yuuki, and Hiromi and Tsutako - the three couples staying at Hiromi's family's beach house – Youko and Sei, and Shimako and Noriko, and Rei and Yoshino who would be sharing the second beach house with Suguru and Alice.

The mood on the train down to the bay was part celebratory for what they'd been able to accomplish over the past few months as well as giddy with anticipation of a few days of fun with nothing to worry about and no work to be done. The mid-August weather was hot and humid and everyone had taken the weather into account in their attire. Shorts and t-shirts with the occasional pair of jeans was the uniform of the day. To anyone watching they would appear to be exactly what they were; high school and college aged kids heading out for a holiday at the beach. All the cares, headaches and stress of running the Rose Foundation had been sloughed off in favor of a playfulness that easily infected the other passengers around them. Older men and women, most dressed in business or work attire with blank, anxious or frowning faces found themselves smiling at the group of teens and twenty-something's as they laughed and giggled most of the trip.

The group was met at the train station by a white passenger van that Suguru had rented for the length of their stay. The young man was dressed as normal in dark pants and a button down shirt while his companion was the epitome of summer fashion. Alice was wearing a light-weight white sundress with a V neck and a blue and pink floral pattern with a hem that hit her just at the knees. Strappy white sandals perfectly matched the white, wide brimmed hat that she held to her head to keep it from blowing away in the breeze coming off the bay. Both of them had wide, contented and somewhat shy smiles on their faces as their friends came trooping through the crowds with their baggage in tow.

"Alice, is that…cleavage?" Yumi squeaked in surprise as she glanced at the young girl, her brown eyes focused intently at Alice's bust line.

"It's not much," Alice blushed deeply as a shy smile graced her lips, "but it's all mine," she said with a touch of pride. "With a little help from the miracle of the Wonder Bra," she giggled.

There were rounds of congratulations from her friends.

"You know," Sei told her huskily, "I didn't have any luck with Yumi-chan, but," she wiggled her eyebrows, "I've always liked them on the small size."

"Oh, is that a fact?" Youko huffed angrily from right behind the tall blonde, causing Alice to giggle again while Sei turned around to try to mollify the dark haired beauty.

While Youko was berating Sei everyone else climbed into the van. Yumi took a seat in the back of the vehicle sitting between Alice and Sachiko. The shortest of the three leaned over and whispered in Yumi's ear, "Was it really necessary to point out my new…assets to everyone?" she asked with an embarrassed grin.

"I thought it would be better if I tried to take everyone's mind off of your glow," Yumi smiled softly, "especially Sei-sama. There's no counting on what she might have said."

"My glow?" Alice asked confusedly.

Yumi nodded and smiled down at her dear friend. "You have that same morning-after glow that Sachi has after we've…um, well, you know," the pigtailed girl pinked, much to Alice's further embarrassment and shock.

Alice turned even redder as she remembered what she and Suguru had ended up doing after their lovely drive down the previous evening. When they arrived at the bay houses they'd made sure that both dwellings were aired out and that the local grocer had stocked them up with staples for the week. She'd been teasing him as usual, delighting in how he and his body were reacting to her every deliberate show of skin.

And then it suddenly hadn't been teasing anymore. Something had come over her, a feeling she'd rarely felt and never in the past acted upon. She felt a burning in her loins and the buds of her newborn breasts had hardened to the point where they ached. She had long accepted that she was truly and irrevocably falling in love with Suguru Kashiwagi. The only way she kept herself from acting on that love was through her not so subtle teasing of the tall, dark haired young man. Yet now she found that she was no longer capable of simply enjoying teasing poor Suguru. She wanted more.

Seeing him across the bedroom from her, laughing and trying to hide the blush in his cheeks at her latest bout of teasing, she suddenly felt the inescapable need to feel those soft, sensuous lips pressed against her own. With his back turned to her she'd moved slowly across the room until she stood right behind him. When he stood and turned around she put her arms round his waist and went up on tiptoe, her eyes begging him to come join her since she couldn't reach that far by herself. Suguru's dark grey eyes had gone wide for a moment in surprise, but only for a moment. They'd then begun to twinkle and she knew he was going to say something jokingly or crass, but then those eyes had changed yet again as they took in and finally understood what it was she desired. And what she was offering.

That first, slow, languid, sensual kiss had turned into a second and then a third and then…

She hadn't believed it could be possible, but if anything the actual consummation of their love for one another was even better than the dream she'd recently had. It was almost as if Suguru had learned from those small mistakes he'd made in the dream so that they didn't recur when they finally came together in reality. Alice knew she'd adjusted her own movements and technique based solely on that one, simple but very real seeming dream. The brown haired girl wasn't sure exactly how reality could surpass a dream, but this time it certainly had.

Yumi noted the smile on the younger girl's face and put her arm around her to pull her close. "I'm very happy for you Alice," she whispered into her dear friend's ear. "I've never seen Suguru happier than when he is with you…and vice versa. It's as if the two of you make one whole."

"Thank you Yumi-sama," Alice grinned. "I am happy. I've never been happier. And it's all due to him."

"Then make sure you hold onto him," Yumi advised her. "If he makes you this happy I'll even forgive him for what he did to Sachi and me so long ago," she grinned, tweaking Alice's nose.

"I will Yumi-sama," the girl replied.

Yumi decided she'd have to have a little word with Suguru about how she expected him to treat Alice properly and what she'd do to him if he didn't, but she didn't expect to have to say very much. She'd already seen how much he loved the girl, but she'd say it anyway, just because she could. Turnabout was fair play after all.

Next to her, Sachiko smiled as she watched Yumi's eyes flicker from the girl beneath her arm to the rear view mirror where Suguru was driving. She knew exactly what her lover was thinking and couldn't wait to hear what she had to say to her cousin. Just the thought of Yumi shaking her finger in his face as she admonished him had her chuckling softly.

-oo-

While the current and former Roses and friends were beginning their long overdue and well-deserved vacation, a certain school nurse was lying on her futon in her apartment feeling sorry for herself. It was a position she'd become extremely familiar with over the past few weeks since a certain black haired singer had very reluctantly boarded a return flight to Rome.

Their love affair had been every bit a whirlwind. They had spent every waking moment together along with quite a few sleeping moments as well. They'd talked, laughed, played around and made love as if there were no tomorrow. They'd also spoken long and seriously about the relationship and what they expected of it and from each other. That they were of a mind in just about every instance said just how right the two of them were for each other.

Sadako had at first thought she was falling in love with Shizuka, but the more she thought about it, and the more time she spent with the wonderful girl, the more she realized that she had already been in love with her from the first time she'd met the songstress almost four years ago. She remembered crying when she found out that Shizuka had her eyes set on one Sei Satou. Those tears had come again when she had learned of the singer's intent to leave for Rome at the end of her second year of high school at Lillian. That first time she'd never even had the chance to say goodbye. This time, however, the two had parted with so many hugs and kisses that she was sure they'd scandalized the entire airport. As she'd watched the black haired woman walk through the security gate the only thing she had to hold on to was the promise that Shizuka had made to her; that she would be back.

The first night after her love had left she'd done nothing but cry. The rest of the week found her "leaking" at the drop of a hat. There was no rhyme or reason for the sudden bouts of waterworks. She didn't even need to see or hear or smell something that reminded her of Shizuka to suddenly find herself unable to control the tears flowing from her eyes or the whimpers of pain issuing from her lips. She'd slowly begun to regain her equilibrium during the second week, but only after the two had spoken on the phone for the first time.

They'd spoken at least twice a week since then and not only on the phone. The nurse also purchased a webcam and signed up for a Skype account so that the two of them could see each other as they talked, but it still wasn't the same as being able to touch and hold the woman she loved. When the two of them were able to talk Sadako was happy. When they weren't talking her memories sustained her. But there were times, often late at night as she lay in her own bed, that not even the memories could keep the all-encompassing, suffocating loneliness at bay. On those nights she cried herself to sleep, praying for morning to come so that at least her work could supplant her loneliness for a few short hours.

"Two years," Sadako whispered to herself as she lay on her futon, tears once again streaming from her eyes. "Almost two years. I don't know if I can last that long Shizuka," she whimpered.

All she could do was to wait until the next time the lovers were able to speak to each other again. Wait and cry.

Nearly ten thousand kilometers away in the city of Rome a certain black haired songstress sat in her classroom, the sound of the voice of her professor making only as much impact on her as the sound of a gnat as she sat with her chin cradled in her palm, her eyes distant and focused solely on the image in her own mind of her hazel-eyed lover.

"Almost two more years," she sighed to herself. "Can I hang on that long Sadako?"

"As much as I truly hate to admit this," her professor's voice impinged rudely on her thoughts, "however, in all my years of study I've yet to see any positive correlation whatsoever between a university degree and a successful stage career. The additional tutoring and experience you receive during your four years here may help, but obtaining that same or even greater experience out there in the real world has often proven, in our industry, to be of far more import."

The sound of a chair tipping over and slamming to the tile floor echoed between the four walls of the ancient classroom.

"Miss Kanina?" her professor looked over top of his glasses at the girl who'd so suddenly stood up from her desk. "Is there a problem?"

"No, Professore," she beamed brightly as she hastily gathered her things together. "No problem at all!" she laughed as she swept from the room.


	20. Chapter 20

It was almost too amazing to believe, but two young men were actually hitting on Yumi and Sachiko!

The members of the Rose Foundation had been enjoying a relaxing few days at the beach houses in Sagami Bay. They had talked, played, shopped, barbecued, swum in the low surf, teased both Alice and Suguru mercilessly (mostly Sei and Yoshino), learned or practiced how to give massages that were more than simple massages, and basically had the time of their lives. On this particular evening, the third of their trip, they had donned yukatas and ventured to a nearby town to enjoy its annual festival. There were food and game booths, the sounds of laugher and drums filling the air, and fireworks were planned for later in the evening. The temperature had cooled as the sun dropped slowly below the horizon and the lanterns and lights were lit along the festival's midway. After a few hours of shared joy the group had split up and agreed to gather back together in an hour, but it hadn't taken more than ten minutes for two guys to start hitting on the two Chinensis soeurs. They'd accosted them just outside a booth that was offering takoyaki and asked if they would be interested in joining them for a bite.

"Thank you for your kind offer, but we're here with friends and are meeting them in just a few minutes to join them for dinner," Yumi replied with a smile and a short nod of her head as she slipped her arm through her lover's. With Sachiko at her side she knew she had to be polite even in these sorts of circumstances. It wouldn't do to simply brush the boys off and the gentle feel of her onee-sama's arm reminded her of that need. She could feel the tenseness in Sachi's arm at the presence of the young men so she did her best to get rid of them as quickly and politely as possible.

"Hey, don't be that way," the slightly shorter boy grinned roguishly and then made the mistake of grabbing Yumi's other arm, "we just want to have some fun with some pretty girls." The brown eyed girl's heart started beating a frantic pace at his audacity as her face flushed with anger. Yumi slowly removed her arm from Sachi's and then placed her hand over top of the boy's where he was holding tightly to her bicep. A quick glance at her lover showed fear in Sachiko's eyes as the other boy, the taller one, moved closer to her and invaded her personal space. That was almost too much, but she knew she had to try the nice avenue at least one more time or Sachiko would never forgive her.

"Again," Yumi said as politely as she could between her clenched teeth as laughing people slid around either side of the group standing near the middle of the walkway, "we thank you for the offer, but we need to be meeting our friends now." The boy's fingers tightened around her arm even more bringing a grimace of pain to her features. It was obvious that he had no intention of letting these two beauties get away him and his friend. When the other boy started to reach for Sachiko, Yumi had had more than enough. As her fingers lay atop the young man's hand she slipped them beneath his thumb and grasped it hard. One quick flick of her wrist and he let go of her with a screech as she continued to hold his thumb tightly and bent it backwards painfully. "I'm trying to be nice and polite about this," she seethed, snapping her head to look at the taller boy. His face paled at the fury shown there and he took a step back away from her raven haired girlfriend. "But if you force me I'll have to get physical. You don't want that," she hissed as she put even more pressure on the boy's thumb and he whined. Sachiko darted behind her, putting Yumi between the two boys and herself as she pulled out her cell and hit a speed dial button.

The boy whose thumb she was just about to break howled in pain when she pressed forward. He bent his wrist to try to take the pressure off his abused thumb but Yumi simply pushed all the harder, forcing him to his knees. A crowd had begun to gather around the four at the sound of his screams of pain, but the next thing the boy knew he found himself flanked by two tall guys, Suguru on one side and Hiromi on the other.

"Fukuzawa-sama," Suguru called out loudly, causing Yumi's head to snap up to look at him at the sound of the overly formal name. "You can let him go now Yumi-chan," Suguru offered much more quietly once he had the young woman's attention. "I understand that he gave you and Sachan insult, and that your months in the gym have given you additional strength, but if you don't want to have to deal with the police I'd suggest you allow him to leave…quietly," he said with a steely voice directed not at Yumi but at the boy on the ground. His friend had already run off when the two young men joined the girls. Hiromi had made no move to prevent his escape, rightfully assuming that their continued presence was not desired. "You do plan on leaving quietly, don't you?" he asked of the teary eyed boy.

"YES! YES, anything! Just call her off! Please!" he yelped. The small girl leaned over until their noses were almost touching, her eyes blazing with fury.

"If you _ever_ accost another woman like that, touch her without her permission, it won't go so easy for you next time," Yumi spat as she suddenly released the boy's thumb and he fell back flat to the ground.

"You crazy bitch!" he screamed as he sprang up and ran away cradling his nearly broken digit, disappearing into the crowds as fast his feet could carry him.

Yumi was panting, the adrenaline that had been flowing through her and her imperative to protect her love at all cost draining from her like water through a sieve. Her knees started shaking and gave way without notice, depositing her on the ground hard enough that she was sure she'd bruised her tailbone.

"It's over now, Yumi-chan," Suguru whispered softly as he knelt in front of the shivering girl, his eyes full of concern and worry. "Sachan is safe. You saved her."

"S-Suguru?" the brown haired girl stammered, her wide, frightened eyes desperately searching his face seeking the truth as the happenings of the past few minutes began to spin like a crazed dervish in her mind. Her head swiveled as if on a turret to take in the similarly frightened countenance of her partner as she knelt at her right side. Yumi's eyes quickly raked over her to ensure herself of her lover's safety. "S-Sachi?" she whimpered. "You're all right?"

"I'm safe love," those blue eyes said gently as she slowly reached out to frame Yumi's face with the warmth of her hands. "I'm safe."

"They-they didn't hurt you?" the pigtailed girl begged.

"No love," Sachiko crooned knowing she had to assure her love. "They never touched me. You scared them off."

"You might have some slight bruising tomorrow from where that ruffian gripped your arm, Yumi-chan," Suguru said as he very carefully reached out to the small girl. Yumi initially shied away from his touch, but then allowed him to gently place a hand beneath her left arm to lift it up to the light. He raised the sleeve of her yukata gently so that they could see five red and slowly darkening spots on her bicep, "but I wouldn't worry about it. They'll be your badge of honor."

"B-badge of honor?" Yumi asked in confusion as her heart finally began to slow to a more normal rhythm along with her breathing.

"What else would you call an injury sustained in a battle to save a loved one, Yumi-sama?" Alice asked with a smile as she knelt on Yumi's other side. "If you're feeling up to it, why don't we all go get something to eat?" the tiny girl offered. Even though the theatrics had ended the group was still getting odd looks from festival goers trying to get around them.

"Y-yes, f-food would be good. Food and tea," Yumi nodded her head emphatically, a small smile of her own finally reaching her lips as she began to reclaim her equilibrium. "That way I won't be a liar either."

Between the three of them they helped to get the still slightly unsteady Yumi to her feet and moving down the walkway.

"I never would have believed it," Youko said softly to an astonished Sei as the two slowly followed after the rest of their group in search of a place to sit their leader down so that she could collect herself.

"Love will do that," her girlfriend replied just as softly, "but I have to agree. I never would have thought she'd have it in her to be violent. Not my little Yumi-chan."

"Way to go Yumi!" Yoshino yelled out with a wide grin as she bounced along the fair's midway beside her furiously blushing friend.

Tsutako just smiled and shook her head as she looked at the image she'd captured on her camera of a righteously angry Yumi in her pink floral yukata leaning over a cowed little man on his knees in front of her, a dark stain on the crotch of his pants where he'd pissed himself.

-oo-

There was no further drama for the rest of the evening or for the remainder of their vacation. Sachiko did, however, take the opportunity to show her lover just how much she appreciated the smaller girl's heroism in protecting her that evening. Yumi's screams of pleasure made their way through the open windows and all the way to the other rented house encouraging Youko to mutter that she hadn't thought her own petite soeur had it in her either and causing Sei to laugh out loud.

The need return to school and work brought out many a sigh from those that had enjoyed themselves for the week. Yukiko and Masamune had held down the fort along with Nana and Sakura while everyone else played although they did have their own fun those days. Yukiko was also able to verify for herself that the loss of a Miko's virginity did not, in fact, have any effect whatsoever on her supernatural abilities much to Masamune-kun's immense relief. Shimako had tried to tell her this on any number of occasions, but since the blonde haired priestess' own powers were mostly innate from her half-kodama heritage Yukiko had taken her assurances with more than a grain of salt. Of course the koi continued to laugh at her for even bothering to worry about it, let alone taking so long.

Sakura, the newest Rosa Chinensis, ended up taking a month off from school to travel to Kyoto to meet up with one of her relatives that had requested her services on what she called "a rather sticky situation" at one of the four hundred Shinto shrines in and around the country's former capital. When she returned she looked especially haggard and had lost weight, but she wore a bright smile that said whatever it was she'd gone there for had been successful. She also brought with her a check in the amount of one billion yen made out to the Rose Foundation and signed by someone named Kyoko Hata.

"Kit-neesan!" Shimako had shrieked with surprise when she got a look at the overly large donation that had nearly caused Yumi to faint on the spot. "You saw Kit-neesan and didn't tell me!" she shrieked at her mother. "How could you!"

"Who…" Yumi panted, still trying to get over the shock of seeing so many zeros on one check.

"She's a cousin…of sorts," Sakura grinned. "She's kind of a trouble-shooter for Inare. Normally she doesn't need any help with her job, but she said that she was passing through the area a few weeks ago and decided I'd gotten strong enough to give her a hand and maybe start learning the ropes. She also said that she spent a bit of time looking over Lillian and especially the Roses while she was here. She was intrigued by the idea of soeurs. She said she was especially interested in what you'd done with the Foundation and decided to, as she put it, invest in the future."

"Um, Sakura-sama," Noriko asked quietly once they'd finally gotten Shimako to settle down even though she ended up cutely pouting at having missed an opportunity to see her cousin, "may I assume that Kyoko Hata-sama is a member of the Hata clan? The clan that essentially built Kyoto from scratch, were the chief financial advisors to the Emperor's family for centuries, and established most of the shrines in the Kyoto area including the Fushimi Inari Taisha, the main Inari shrine in the country?"

"Ah, kind of," Sakura had chuckled. "I guess you could call her an honorary member even though she was formally adopted into the family by the clan head himself more than eight hundred years ago."

"Eight…hundred…" Sachiko stammered, falling into the chair next to her still hyperventilating petite soeur.

"And she doesn't look a day over twenty, the rutting vixen," she laughingly grouched. "And Yumi-chan," she said, turning to the slowly calming young woman, "don't worry about the amount of the check. That's probably only about one or two percent of what she's got stashed away, if that. When you get financial advice from the same folks that advised multiple generations of the Emperor's family, and throw in eight hundred or so years of growth and interest, that's mostly chicken feed to her."

Noriko smiled softly, deciding to keep her assumptions to herself for now although her eyes were alight with curiosity about this potential new player in their little drama.

-oo-

"You've what?!" Sadako squeaked in shock at what she thought her lover had just told her over the web. "You've quit school?"

"Well, not really quit, just dropped a few classes that I realized I didn't need. I've decided that I'm only going to take courses that will help me with my career rather than going for a full degree," the smiling Shizuka replied. "I've also told my agent to go ahead and accept some jobs that I'd originally thought would be too strenuous when coupled with my schoolwork."

"And why, may I ask, have you made such a momentous decision? Don't you know that you need that degree to fall back on if your career in opera peters out?"

"I already spoke to Lillian's Director, Sayako-sensei, and she told me that I didn't need a degree to get a job there teaching music if I decided that was what I eventually wanted to do. She said that after the spring semester's success she'd hire me in a heartbeat. She'd even let me take sabbaticals to perform just so long as I included Lillian's name in the programs," she giggled. "That way I could teach and continue to perform at the same time."

"Bu-but…but that would mean…you'd be back…here?" the dark haired nurse whispered, the microphone of her computer only barely catching her voice to transmit it nearly a quarter of the way around the globe to be heard by the woman she loved.

"Nowhere near as soon as I'd like, love," Shizuka murmured, her eyes turning down briefly before she looked back up to the tiny camera mounted to her monitor, "but, is June soon enough?"

"Will you be coming home for the winter break?" Sadako asked, the pathetic hope in her voice all too evident to her.

"My agent is working on setting up a few performances for me during the Christmas holidays. It's a big time around here and the rest of Europe and could really cement my name in people's minds," the songstress replied with longing. "If it works out I'll even be performing in Paris."

"Would…would you mind some company? I think Sayako-sensei would be willing to give me the time off."

"Christmas in Paris with the woman I love? How could I say no," Shizuka smiled warmly, a grin creasing her lips, her words bringing a similar smile to the woman sitting far too far away from her.

-oo-

Balancing schoolwork with the needs of the Foundation once again began to take their toll on Yumi as their alliance with the Rainbow Fund moved into the second phase of their plans. Despite doing everything she could to eat right and get enough sleep as she had promised her partner it was Sachiko that found her crumpled on the floor of their bathroom around lunchtime in mid-November when she got back from one of her classes. Yumi's skin was clammy, pale, and hot to the touch beneath her sweat soaked pajamas, filthy from where she'd thrown up on herself. The young woman's temperature was just cresting 40C when she was hastily admitted to Tokyo University Medical Center. Sachiko had once again called on the services of her family's security arm to procure a medevac helicopter to take the severely ill and dehydrated girl directly to the hospital from its landing site in one of the open fields at Lillian Girls' Academy.

Sachi had flown the entire way with her never once letting go of Yumi's hand even as the medics tried desperately to establish an IV. The brown-eyed girl's veins were so tiny from dehydration that they'd eventually had to go in through one of the larger veins in her right leg, giving up on her arm after the eighth attempt blew out yet another vein. By the time Yumi opened her eyes late in the night two days later she'd had more than six bags of fluid to rehydrate her as well as heavy doses of levofloxacin. Her temperature had finally dropped down to 37.5C; still high but manageable and at least moving in the right direction.

Throughout that time Sachiko refused to leave her love's side, often having to be forced to eat or drink by Youko, Yoshino, and Rei who visited their friend and kohai on a daily basis.

"Yumi wouldn't want you to be doing this to yourself, Sachiko," Youko tried to tell her petite soeur. "You know she'd want you to take care of yourself."

"I know onee-sama," the sapphire-eyed girl replied in a soft, raspy voice, her moist eyes focused solely on the girl she loved, "but I just can't bear the thought of food right now. My stomach is all in turmoil."

Youko sighed, trying to think of some words that would get through to the girl. It was almost as bad as when Sachiko's grandmother had died and no one could console her except for the girl now lying in that hospital bed. It was Rei's words that finally seemed to get through to her dear friend. "If you don't at least drink something healthy you'll just end up in your own hospital bed in a separate room," she warned her. "They won't want you anywhere near Yumi-chan if you make yourself sick."

It was that argument more than anything that enticed Sachi to at least eat a little soft food and to start drinking water and nutritional supplements to keep up her strength. By the time Yumi finally awoke more than sixty hours after her admittance to the hospital it was to find her love asleep with her head on the mattress, their fingers gently entwined.

"I'm sorry, Sachi," she cried softly as she raised her other hand to lightly stroke the raven black hair of the woman she loved so much. "I tried to be good. I tried to eat and rest like I should. Really I did!"

"She knows, Yumi-chan," a warm voice responded from out of the darkness near the door to her room. Yumi looked up to see Sayako-okaasan sitting in a chair just inside the closed door. "She knows you didn't bring this on yourself by neglecting your health," the older woman continued as she stood and moved to the edge of the bed to rest a hand on her sleeping daughter's shoulder. "Sometimes it just happens. I won't even begin to try to pronounce the name of whatever bacteria it was that they were able to grow in those petri dishes from what little amounts of blood they were able to get from you. m. stenotropho-something. Whatever it was, it's known to be extremely resistant to normal antibiotics and they have no idea how you contracted it." The black haired woman nodded to the smaller of the two bags hooked into Yumi's IV. "You're on the heaviest dose of antibiotics they can safely give you without you becoming toxic. They've been adjusting the dosage almost every time by doing blood tests prior to giving it to you so that they could see how much of it your body was using. You, my young lady, were…are one very sick girl."

"I-is Sachi all right?" she asked of her lover's mother, more concerned with Sachiko's welfare than her own.

"She's fine," Sayako smiled as she joined Yumi in stroking her daughter's hair, the light of the moon shining through the window accentuating the blue highlights. "She's just exhausted. She hasn't left your side since she found you passed out on the floor."

"How long," Yumi started to ask.

"You've been here two and a half days already," the Director of Lillian Girl's Academy answered her, "and don't expect to be getting out anytime soon. The infectious disease specialist says you'll be on these antibiotics for the next two weeks and they only want to give them to you intravenously. And before you ask, no they won't let you go home with a PIC line."

"I know," Yumi smiled for the first time. "I tried so hard to get them to let me go home with a line when I was taking my chemo just so that I could be with Sachi and the rest of my family, but they always said no. That there was too great a chance for infection." She looked lovingly back at the sleeping girl. "Can we at least get another bed or cot in here for Sachi? She's going to destroy her back if she keeps sleeping like that. You know how fragile she is."

"It's already been ordered," Sayako grinned, not at all surprised that Yumi would be more worried about her lover than she was for herself. "I know for a fact that she won't listen to anyone telling her to go back to school. Even you won't be able to get her to leave your side Yumi-chan."

"Will they at least let me have my laptop so I can do some work?" Yumi asked with such a cute pout that Sayako laughed quietly.

"I'll see what I can do. Just don't go working too hard and undoing all the good that's being done now."

"I won't," the brown-eyed girl smiled. "I've got plans for the future and they don't include kicking the bucket anytime soon."

"Oh?"

"Yep," Yumi grinned. "It may take a while, maybe even a few years, but I've got a wedding to plan," she replied as she turned back to take in the visage of the girl she loved more than anything in the world, "and I won't let any old stupid bacteria or virus or Diet get in my way."

Sayako had to smile at the determination she saw in the small girl's eyes and prayed she'd be around to witness that wedding herself.


	21. Chapter 21

It wasn't just Yumi's health issues that had brought Sayako Ogasawara to the hospital that night. The Director of Lillian Girls' Academy had been at her doctor's offices at Tokyo University Medical Center just the past week for her annual checkup. The various tests this year had included a general physical and cholesterol testing, a pap smear and mammogram, a colonoscopy, and a skin test to look for abnormal spots or moles. She'd learned the hard way with the loss of Sachiko's grandmother that it was foolhardy to forego such simple tests when the end result could very well be the difference between life and death. Between being able to see her daughter get married to the wonderful girl she'd chosen to be her partner or missing that wondrous event. Between holding her first grandchild in her arms or never knowing such singular joy.

Her mother-in-law had died of a breast cancer that had over time metastasized to her lymph nodes and then to her colon and lungs. If she'd had a simple mammogram just three years earlier she could have had a lumpectomy and the woman would most probably have still been with them today. Like most women she'd complained that the tests were "uncomfortable" and that was her rationale for putting them off year after year until it was too late. By the time the cancer had finally been diagnosed it had already progressed to Stage IV and Saiko Ogasawara had fewer than four months to live, most of them in debilitating pain and with severe difficulty breathing.

On the day before Saiko's funeral Sayako had promised not only herself, but Tooru and Sachiko that she would never be so stupid as to forego such simple tests, no matter how uncomfortable or painful they might be, if it meant that she could spend even one more year, one more month, one more day with those she loved.

She'd heard from her doctor's office earlier that the mammogram had discovered a lump in her left breast. It was tiny, only around half a millimeter, and it would have been difficult to find with just normal breast self-examination. A follow-up needle biopsy had confirmed the presence of abnormal cells that called for further action. When they did the biopsy they also removed a few lymph nodes from her left armpit for testing. Luckily those tests had come back negative. Her doctor had assured her that because it had been found so early there was every chance that a simple lumpectomy and hormone or radiation treatments would see her through Sachiko's and Yumi's wedding, through the presentation of her grandchild, and even possibly the birth of Sachiko's and Yumi's grandchildren.

Her visit to Yumi that night was not only to reassure herself of the welfare of her daughter and the girl Sayako had come to love just as much as a child of her own flesh, but also to ready herself for the next morning's surgery. Tooru would be arriving early in the morning just as soon as he picked Miki and Yuichiro up and brought them to the hospital so that they could visit their daughter. Sayako was looking forward to seeing Yumi's mother, her fairy and petite soeur, and to sharing a few moments with the woman she'd come to care so much about after being separated for so long. She would need Miki's strength along with the strength of her family and Yumi who had been through so much more than she herself would have to go through. With their strength and support she knew that she would be able to overcome any obstacles and, like Yumi, she had determined that no cancer, no matter how malignant or pernicious, was going to hold her back or steal even one minute of happiness from her.

Sayako had every intention of helping Yumi and Sachiko plan their wedding no matter how many years it took to come about.

-oo-

When Yumi slowly awoke the next morning her first thought was that she was back at home in the apartment she shared with Sachi. She could feel the weight of her love's arm as it rested lightly across her abdomen along with the weight of Sachiko's head on her shoulder. A strand of raven black hair was tickling her nose and she could feel her lover's warm breath breeze softly across the heated skin of her neck and collarbone. A smile creased her lips before they opened in a contented sigh as she snuggled closer to the woman she loved more than life. A tug at her left arm along with a slight pain as she moved reminded her of just exactly where she was and why.

When she finally opened her eyes it was to find herself in what appeared to be a much larger hospital bed than the one she'd gone to sleep in the night before. An IV line stretched from a bag hung from a pole attached to the bed and ended in a needle stuck into and taped to the inside of her left forearm. From what she could see both the bag of dextrose solution as well as the much smaller bag of antibiotics were empty which probably meant that a nurse would be by soon to switch them out.

The bed she lay in was nearly twice the normal width of a hospital bed which was why Sachi had been able to crawl in to sleep without crowding her. "I guess it pays to be a friend of the Ogasawara's," Yumi giggled softly to herself as she used her right arm to pull her love even closer to her so that their bodies were touching all the way to their toes. Glancing at the clock mounted on the wall she noted that it was just after eight in the morning. Having been through it far too many times before she next looked to the table next to the bed to see a tray with containers of various clear fluids. She groaned at the thought of them having her on a clear liquid diet when what she really wanted was a plate of eggs and bacon. "Maybe a western omelette?" she chuckled softly.

"I'd be happy with a cup of tea and a bit of toast," the girl lying next to her mumbled grouchily. Sachiko had never grown out of not being a morning person. Her low blood pressure in the mornings had never gotten any better which, in Yumi's mind, wasn't all that bad a thing as she turned her head and placed a soft kiss against that smooth brow. "Mmm," the black haired woman smiled softly, "or maybe just a little sweetness," she grinned as she slowly opened her azure eyes to see two beautiful brown eyes looking back at her. "Good morning, love," she purred.

"Good morning, love," Yumi responded in kind before ducking her chin to give Sachi another kiss, this one on her lovely red lips. "Did you sleep well?"

"Mmm," Sachiko smiled again. "I always sleep well when I'm with you," she grinned and hugged her partner tightly. "Speaking of which," she raised her head to glance around at her changed circumstance, "I could have sworn I was sitting in a chair when I fell asleep last night…and you weren't in a bed anywhere near this big."

"I think Sayako-okaasan had something to do with it," Yumi giggled. "We both must have been too exhausted if we didn't wake up when they moved us into this bed."

"Guilty as charged," Sachiko nodded and then had to cover her mouth as she yawned. A cute little squeak escaped her throat as she did so, much to Yumi's delight. It had come as a great and wonderful surprise to learn some of the little quirks her onee-sama had that just made the brown haired girl love her all the more. Those deep blue eyes turned serious as they gazed upon her. "You scared me Yumi. Are you feeling better now?"

"I'm sorry I frightened you, Sachi," Yumi responded softly, dropping her eyes at the thought that she'd once again caused this beautiful, fantastic girl a single iota of pain. She looked up again when she felt a strong but soft hand with long slender fingers cup her cheek and play with her hair.

"It's not your fault, love," Sachiko told her with a gentle smile. "You got sick through no fault of your own. It happens to the best of us. You've had to take care of me in the past as well. It's just…I don't like it when you're sick, Yumi," she whimpered softly. "It reminds me too much of how close I came to losing you." Yumi closed her eyes, unable to put away the guilt even though she knew rationally that neither this infection nor her leukemia were her fault. "You've worked yourself too hard in the past, yes, and become sick as a result, but this wasn't one of those times. This was not your fault," she repeated much more forcefully, hoping to impress upon the girl she loved this essential truth. "I'm just happy that you're feeling better. You are aren't you?" she asked hopefully. Yumi smiled just a bit.

"I am feeling better. I can't even really remember much of that morning except that I remember feeling extremely dizzy and nauseous. Like the room was spinning and my head was full of cotton to the point where I couldn't hear anything. You'd already left for classes and I remember making it to the bathroom as my stomach heaved, but nothing after that."

"Your temperature hit over 40.6C even after they started you on the antibiotics." Sachiko shuddered at the memory of the tiny girl thrashing around on the bed; throwing her covers off and trying to pull off her gown to get just a little cooler even as she shivered. She'd nearly pulled her IV line out despite Sachiko and two orderlies trying to hold her down. The nurses and doctors had eventually packed bags of ice around and on top of her to try to cool her feverish body. "Even your heartbeat started fluctuating wildly; throwing off PVCs. Thank Maria that was only for a short time or it could have seriously damaged your heart."

"I'm sorry, Sachi," Yumi whimpered softly. "I didn't mean to do this to you again."

"I know, sweet. I know," Sachiko smiled and then pulled Yumi to her and hugged her tightly as the smaller girl wept silently on her shoulder. They lay that way until Yumi quieted.

"Sayako-okaasan told me it was a bacterial infection, but she couldn't tell me what caused it," Yumi offered once she'd gotten herself under control.

"They still don't know," the sapphire-eyed girl shook her head slowly. "It usually only attacks when there's a foreign object in the body…like a breathing tube or a catheter, but you didn't have anything like that. They did an MRI of your entire body and found nothing. They even did something to your blood - something about taking some out, separating out the white cells, treating them with some kind of radiation or dye, and then re-injecting them into your body to see where they went to fight off the infection – but still they found nothing. It's a complete mystery." She shook her head again at the frustration of not knowing and then sighed. "At least you're getting better now. That's all that matters to me."

"To me also," Yumi agreed with a warm smile and then grinned. "As I told okaa-san, I still have a wedding to plan, so you're not going to get rid of me any time soon."

"I'll hold you to that promise," Sachiko smiled broadly in return before leaning forward a touch, sealing their promise with a kiss.

A soft knock at the door let them know that it was time for the nurse to change her IV bags. It also ushered in Yumi's parents, Miki and Yuichiro.

-oo-

Sayako lay on the examination table in the radiology department as the nurse, a technician, and the radiologist moved around her speaking softly. Knowing that there was a possibility that they would have to do a number of mammograms in order to specifically identify the location of the lump, she'd requested the radiologist to use a Lidocaine gel to numb the breast first. Once the mammograms had been done and they'd supposedly located the tumor they were targeting the radiologist returned with a needle and syringe.

"Ojou-sama," the man said softly but with a reassuring voice, "I'm going to give you a local anesthetic to reduce any pain from the insertion of the wire. You'll feel a number of pinpricks, I'm probably going to do four to six injections to ensure complete numbness, but it shouldn't feel much worse than a few bee stings." Sayako nodded her head in understanding. Her surgeon had been kind enough to allow her a dose of anti-anxiety medication before they started the procedure since she would be awake for a portion of it. She was now extremely grateful for his foresight.

"What will happen after that?" she asked softly, still a bit nervous even with the medication she'd taken. Her hands were gripping and releasing the fabric of the sheet beneath her.

The radiologist smiled at her. It was a common enough question and he was ready with the answer. "After you're completely numb we'll use a very thin needle, smaller in diameter than what is normally used to draw blood, to target the lump. You might feel some pressure or pulling, but if you feel anything truly uncomfortable please let me know immediately." When she nodded her head again he went on. "We'll be using the mammograms we took earlier to guide us to the exact point. I placed a marker at the site when I did the biopsy, but this method will ensure the greatest precision of finding just the right spot. We'll then insert a tiny wire through the needle and out through its tip such that it lodges against the mass. Once the wire is properly positioned we'll secure it and then remove the needle, leaving the wire in place so that the doctor can use it as a guide to remove the appropriate tissue. After the wire has been inserted I'll take another mammogram to ensure that the wire placement is correct. If it isn't, we'll reposition the wire until it's in the proper place. Luckily I'm pretty good at this," he grinned. "I rarely have to do a repositioning."

"That's good to hear," Sayako chuckled while privately asking Maria-sama to guide him in his endeavors.

"Once the wire is in place the anesthesiologist will give you a mild general anesthetic to let you sleep through the rest of the procedure. I'll inject a dye into the area around the lump which will travel to the sentinel nodes around the mass. That process is relatively painful which is why we use a general anesthetic. The insertion of the wire and dye injection shouldn't take more than an hour or two and most of that will be to allow the dye time to travel to the sentinel node or nodes. Your surgeon will then make a small incision as close to the lump as possible and remove the lump, the sentinel nodes, and a little more tissue surrounding each just to make sure that we've caught it all in one go. That way there's less chance that you'll have to come back for any re-excision surgery."

"Please tell me you're not going to leave that wire in after the surgery," Sayako begged good naturedly. The radiologist laughed and assured her that they wouldn't leave it there.

"During the healing process the body will create scar tissue that will eventually fill up the space from where the mass was removed. You might be able to feel it as a small lump, and it will show up on future mammograms, but there's nothing to be worried about there," he finished his instruction.

"And I'll be able to leave once I'm done in the recovery room?" she asked to be sure. She wanted to get back to Yumi's room as soon as possible.

"Yes," he smiled again. "A lumpectomy with sentinel node removal is usually performed on an outpatient basis and you'll be free to leave as soon as you're feeling better. So, Ojou-sama" he grinned, "are we ready to proceed?"

"I guess we are," the black haired woman replied with a smile of her own along with another entreaty to Maria-sama to watch over her.

-oo-

"Is this really necessary, Miki-okaasan?" Sachiko whined as she was ushered unceremoniously into an examination room just around the same time that Sayako was being put under general anesthetic.

"I promised your mother that you'd have a mammogram done while she's in surgery, Sachi," Miki Fukuzawa told the young woman in no uncertain terms.

"And tell me again why my mother thought it was a wise idea not to tell me about her surgery this morning?" Sachiko huffed in indignation as Miki helped her to get her blouse and bra off and into the gown that the nurse had provided for her.

"You know exactly why Sako-san didn't tell you, Sachi," the dark haired woman admonished her. "She knew you had enough on your mind already with Yumi-chan's illness and didn't need anything more to worry about. I've been assured both by your mother as well as by her doctor that the lumpectomy procedure is relatively simple." She stopped for a moment to collect herself before she continued in a much gentler voice. "Unfortunately it's also just the first step in a long, drawn-out process of hormone and radiation treatments, but she's been told that since the cancer was caught so early there should be every chance for an excellent prognosis and that she will have many more years in which to pester you no end," she giggled.

"And that means I have to have a mammogram why?" Sachiko fumed. She was so upset with her mother and her damned secret that she hadn't given a moment's thought to the fact that her future mother-in-law was helping her get undressed, seeing her bare naked above the waist, and then helping her into the hospital gown.

Miki sighed as she tied up the back of Sachiko's gown. "Sit," she ordered the younger woman. Again without thought, just because of the timber of Miki's voice, Sachiko took a seat in the only chair in the room as Miki hopped up onto the examination table before turning to look at the black haired girl with serious eyes. "Sachi," she said softly as her hands gripped each other. "Although there's no guarantee that you'll get breast cancer, the fact that two members, or even one member of your family, ended up with breast cancer means that the chances you'll get it are immensely increased. In fact, because of the family history, your father even has a greater chance to end up getting cancer. He's in another part of the hospital right now undergoing a prostate exam and a colonoscopy."

"Otou-sama too?" Sachi squeaked in a frightened voice, all anger having fled at Miki-okaasan's words and the thought that both of her parents were at risk.

"Cancer is not a disease where you can afford to bury your head in the sand and pray that it passes you by," Miki told the shaken girl. "It strikes far too many people these days. In 2010 one point six million women heard the words 'you have breast cancer.' What's truly saddening is that many of those that die do so needlessly. If the cancer had been caught earlier over four hundred thousand of those women could have been saved. If they were to have simply followed their doctor's recommendations and had regular mammograms, pap tests, colonoscopies, and skin exams so many, many lives could have been saved," she sighed again. "Sachi…you heard Yumi-chan this morning. If there's even a one percent chance, and that one percent chance can be alleviated through a simple exam or test, it's criminally stupid not to have those tests performed. You might as well be committing suicide. You want to live with my daughter until you're both old and grey don't you?" the brown-eyed woman asked, the desperation in her voice evident.

"Of course!" came the expected reply from her daughter's love.

"Then why wouldn't you want to do everything in your power to ensure that you get those years together?" she asked with tears in her voice, nearly begging Sachiko to see reason.

"When you put it like that, okaa-san," Sachi said softly with a small smile, "what else can do but ask when you're getting yours done."

"You're making your mother, father, Yumi, and Yuichiro and me very, very happy, Sachi," Miki smiled, "and I had mine two months ago along with my pap smear," she chuckled.

-oo-

Sachiko was back in Yumi's room sitting in a lounge chair that someone had found for her and reading another romance novel when Sayako knocked on the doorframe.

"Okaa-san!" Yumi exclaimed at seeing the older woman smiling at her.

"I am so mad at you Okaa-san!" Sachi said angrily but then ran to her mother and took her into her arms.

"Gently, Sachi!" Sayako gasped and her daughter jumped away from her mumbling apology after apology until her mother couldn't help but chuckle. "I'm a bit sore, but the preliminary histology says that they got all of it," she told the girls with a wide smile. "I'll know more when the full lab results are completed, but everything they're seeing right now is that it was still localized to that one spot. No spreading."

"That's wonderful news," Yumi squealed in delight as Sachiko once again, but much more gently, took her mother in her arms as tears of relief and joy fell from her eyes.

"And you, dear?" Sayako asked her daughter as she pushed her away to look into her eyes. The smile on both of the girls' faces told the news, but Sachiko said the words anyway.

"All clear," she hesitated a moment, "for now."

* * *

Author's Rant: All right, I know I'm preaching, but I just can't help it. Although the characters in this story are fictional, all of the information I've provided in this chapter is true to the best of my research. In case you hadn't figured it out, this chapter is my offering for Breast Cancer Awareness month. This chapter is dedicated to all those men and women out there that are putting up the good fight every single day to beat their cancer as well as to those working tirelessly to find a cure. For those of you lucky enough to be "all clear" as Sachiko put it, please don't be so stupid as to forego the testing that could literally save your life. First thing Monday morning, call your doctor and schedule a cholesterol screening, a mammogram, a pap smear and pelvic exam, a skin test, or a prostate exam and colonoscopy. Yes, some of the tests may be slightly uncomfortable or even slightly painful, but they could also save your life.

CelticX


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: I apologize for the delay, but it seems that I'm still working out a few kinks. Here's at least one more chapter to hopefully carry you through for a little while. Just a bit of fun ;-p

* * *

Yumi apologized profusely to her instructors for missing over two weeks of their classes due to her illness. There were times during the day when she would have sworn she'd never bowed so much in her entire life. Each and every one of her teachers accepted her apologies and asked after her health so she assured them that she was feeling much better. The only professor that didn't really give her any slack was her architecture instructor, Yamamoto-sensei.

"You still have that project due before the end of the term, Fukuzawa-san," he told her in unequivocal terms. "I cannot give you any additional time in which to finish it, so that means you've only got about two weeks left."

"Yes, sensei," Yumi smiled and thanked him for the reminder even though inside she was quaking.

The notice of the project requirements had come in via email during the first few days of her stay in the hospital. Since then she'd had plenty of time to think of various options but had yet to come up with any definitive solution. The requirement was relatively simple: Design a building that would support specific business requirements AND support employee needs physically, mentally, and emotionally. The first idea that had popped into her head was a traditional commercial building that also contained rooms or areas specifically designed to support the employees, such as a workout room, cafeteria, meditation room, etc., but the idea just didn't seem right to her. It was too…blah…but it was all that she had for the moment. She'd played with drawing various elevations to try to give her ideas, but they just didn't create any spark.

"What about a daycare center, Yumi?" Sachiko asked her one night about a week before the project was due to be handed in. Yumi had been in the study almost since she'd gotten home. She'd been leafing through architectural magazines trying to see if they would give her any ideas but with no success. When Sachiko called her out to dinner she brought the magazine with her to the table, but she didn't give it much attention. Sachiko knew that her partner had been worrying about the project all day and had decided to throw out an idea of her own just to see if she could help.

"I'd thought of that," the college sophomore sighed as she took another bite of the fried tofu Sachi had cooked for them, "but daycare center's need to be designed around the needs of the children more so than the needs of the adult workers. If the children are happy then the workers are most likely going to be happy as well. It's close, but it doesn't really meet the definition of the requirements sensei gave us."

Hiromi suggested a clothing store, something that he was familiar with, but there again the store needed to be geared more toward the customer than the worker.

Tsutako suggested either a photo studio or a publishing firm, but that simply led Yumi back to where she'd started, with a standard old commercial building with some areas to be used by the workers.

Similarly both Suguru and Alice were of no help whatsoever since their experience was also in traditional businesses and factories, and neither Shimako nor Noriko, being only interested in temples, could help her out either. She was becoming more frustrated and worried as the deadline drew closer.

It was only four days before the project was due and she still hadn't a clue as to what she wanted to design that could be used for business purposes as well as fully support a staff of people such that they wanted to be at work as much, or at least almost as much, as they wanted to be at their own homes.

"I guess I'll go put in a little time at the office before I head home," Yumi sighed as she was leaving her last period of the day. Despite it being nearly the winter holidays the weather was nice enough that Yumi decided to walk to RMII rather than take the short bus ride.

The sidewalk wasn't overly crowded as she wended her way down the street with cars rushing by her on one side and the tall brick wall surrounding the Lillian campus on the other. She inspected each and every establishment as she walked, hoping beyond hope that some tremendous idea would strike her like a bolt of lightning. Most of the stores had already put up their Christmas decorations so red and green were the predominant colors on the other side of the street. The branches of the trees planted along the way, naked of their foliage in their winter slumber, rattled softly as a gentle breeze pushed them such that they rubbed against one another. She'd heard people compare the sound to that of bones rattling, but to her it sounded more like the sound of her family using chopsticks around the dinner table.

She could feel a mild warmth rising up from the sun-heated sidewalk as she snuggled deeper into her warm woolen coat. Her mother had given it to her as a Christmas present two years earlier and it hugged her like a warm, comforting blanket. She could almost feel her mother's strong, loving arms embracing her whenever she wore it. She returned a wave and a smile from Mama Cho who was outside cleaning off the glass door to her restaurant. By the time she got to the pedestrian overpass outside the gates of Lillian Girls' Academy her mood had lifted significantly even if the problem of her project was still hanging over her head. Standing in the middle of the walkway she couldn't help but grin at the sight of the white sided wooden building that had become so much a second home to her over the past nearly two years.

She sighed again, wishing she could do something as simple as a rendering of RMII for her project since it was, in effect, a building where business was conducted yet also gave off the welcome and relaxing atmosphere of a family home to which she was always happy to return, but she quickly came to the conclusion that the building was just too small for their eventual needs. As it stood today, the Rose Mansion II had a reception area, two offices (in addition to the one office on the first floor that everybody shared, they'd had to clean out the storage room next to it to provide an office for Masamune-kun so that he could handle all the Foundation's accounting and finances), a kitchen, and a living room/reception area on the first floor, and the meeting room and bathroom on the second floor. That was it for a building that could, at any given time, need to support up to fifteen or twenty volunteers, if not more. If it were larger she was sure she could fill an additional five or six offices easily.

"Why not?" she suddenly thought out loud as she stood there in the middle of the pedestrian bridge with the traffic flying by beneath her. "Why couldn't I simply design a larger building but still keep that overall homey feeling?" The brightness of the smile that came upon her features brought similar smiles to everyone around her on the overpass. Before she could second-guess herself she was rushing down the steps to the sidewalk and through the door to her home away from home.

"Yumi-sama?" Alice squeaked in surprise as her friend and mentor came rushing in from the outdoors with a broad grin on her face.

Yumi, for maybe the first time ever, ignored Alice's voice as she turned slowly around in the foyer, taking it all in, including the smell of sugar cookies baking in the kitchen so that everyone could have a small snack with their tea. It really was just like home!

"If I pushed out this wall, and maybe put in a wall here…we don't really need that large a living room…and if I expanded that wall out just so, I could easily fit another three offices upstairs along with another one down here …in fact, if I raised the roof peak just a bit more I could even add a third level with another two or three offices…I'd have to add a window or two to each level, and maybe even some dormers…YES!" she squealed with delight, spinning around clapping while doing a little dance.

"Yu-Yumi?" Alice murmured in a soft, frightened voice while shrinking back in her chair and away from the maniac in her entryway.

"Alice! Could you and the others handle things for a couple of days? I've got to get working?" the pigtailed girl begged as she spun back and her eyes burned like lasers into the even smaller brown haired Alice.

Y-yes?" the now thoroughly confused girl answered as she felt herself leaning even further back in her chair.

"Thank you!" Yumi screeched and then went running past her, through the kitchen and out the back door. Alice's chair tipped past its balance point and crashed to the floor, her legs and her skirt both flying up in a very unladylike manner.

"You're very welcome," Alice groaned from her splayed position on the hardwood floor. "I think."

Over the next three extremely long days and nights, the blueprints for "Rose Mansion III" were born.

Needless to say, being the Mary Sue that she is, she received a one hundred percent for the project.

-oo-

The snow started falling on the morning of Christmas Eve. It started out as just a few flakes, little black dots high in the sky slowly meandering their way down from the clouds that had rolled in, only a few of them actually reaching the ground to lightly dust the brown grass, mulch, and cobblestoned paths with a white coating of sugar. It wasn't all that much in the way of precipitation, but it was enough to get Sakura to send the rest of the Yamayurikai home early just to be sure that they didn't get stuck on the road or railway tracks. Nana-chan, Yukiko-sama and all of their petite soeurs had lengthy trips to make it home on time. Sakura was the only one that needed to walk just a few paths to reach her grove.

With the weather forecast looking so bleak the members of the Yamayurikai had decided to hold their annual Christmas party the previous day. There were still plenty of leftovers in the fridge, both sweets as well as sandwiches and breads. There was even a goodly amount of apple cider left over. It was easily enough food such that Sakura could have a veritable feast nearly every day over the winter holiday. If she didn't know better she would have sworn that Nana was behind the plethora of leftovers.

The auburn haired girl was sitting in Sei-sama's favorite spot on the sill of the front window, a cup of hot apple cider in her hand as she watched the snow coming down much harder than it had been just a couple of hours earlier. Already there were nearly ten centimeters on the grounds of Lillian, nor did it appear that the storm intended to blow over anytime soon. This much snow was a rarity in Tokyo and would surely result in traffic accidents and possibly even loss of life, but sitting in the warmth of the Rose Mansion looking out across the silent, tranquil grounds of the Academy was like looking at a winter wonderland.

That is, it was until Sakura saw a very familiar figure trudging her way through the snow, head down to keep the blowing ice crystals from her eyes and the red woolen cap that Sakura had given to her as a Christmas present pulled down tightly over her ears. The grey-eyed girl leapt from her perch to rush down the creaky old stairs and fling the front door open just in time for Nana-chan to fall into her arms.

"Nana? By Inare, what are you doing here?" she cried out in a worried voice as she kicked the door closed with her foot and began to drag the wet and shaking teen to the stairs. The only response she received was a chattering of teeth. The cap and coat ended up somewhere on the steps as Sakura pulled her frozen love past the biscuit door on the second floor balcony and into the bath at the end. Quickly she turned on the shower and set the temperature to a mild heat. "Let's get you out of these wet clothes," she instructed. This time she at least received a quick nod of the black haired girl's head in reply. It was either that or simply more shivering.

Soaking wet shoes and socks were removed first, reminding the much older woman that she'd need to wipe down the floor to remove any wet spots that they'd tracked in. Next came the one-piece uniform, pulled roughly over the smaller girl's head and leaving her standing in only her underwear and a white slip. Steam began to slowly fill the room as Sakura more gently removed Nana's damp slip. She then wrapped the younger girl in a large towel before quickly pulling her own clothes off until she stood naked before her lover's nearly closed hazel eyes. A touch of color was finally returning to Nana's too pale cheeks and lips as the bathroom began to heat up. Before the heir to the Arima dojo could say another word the last vestiges of clothing were whisked from her body along with the fluffy towel and she was thrust into the shower stall to fall victim to the hot spray of water that hit her too cold skin like tiny spears of pain.

Sakura stepped into the shower right behind her and took her into her warm arms, pulling Nana backwards until the entirety of her back and bottom rested firmly against her own heated skin. The smaller girl was still shivering even with the heat of the water beating against her breasts and stomach on one side and the heat of her lover against her back. One of Sakura's hands somehow found a washcloth that was quickly filled with a sweet scented body wash redolent of her own namesake. Slowly Sakura gently washed her lover's body with soap and hot water, the shivers falling away everywhere the cloth passed until Nana could once again take a deep breath and pull the heat of the shower's steam into her lungs to begin to warm her insides as well. Ever so slowly she sank into her love's warm embrace, her muscles finally relaxing their rigid hold.

Nana felt the now wet-haired Sakura shiver slightly and decided to turn the tables now that she was once again warm. She stole the wash cloth from her lover's hand and turned around so that the two women were facing each other. She then slowly walked them around so that each of them had a side to the spraying shower head. Smiling she watched as the auburn haired girl's eyes closed in contentment as she began to tenderly wash Sakura's curvaceous body, the shivers of cold she'd felt in the older girl disappearing as if by magic. Once she'd thoroughly washed Sakura's back, the cloth made a distinct plop on the tile floor, but her small hands continued to roam over that ever so soft and tantalizingly addictive skin. When her fingers continued beyond the small of her back to find the entrance to the valley she was rewarded with a shiver that had nothing to do with the cold outside along with a soft moan that did more to warm her than the heat of the shower's water.

The moan caused the opening of lips that Nana was quick to exploit as her own reddening lips quickly found pink ones and her tongue delved deep to find its regular dance partner.

"You never answered me as to why you came back, Nana-chan," Sakura asked her partner much later as the two were laying swaddled in multiple blankets on the old sofa in the first floor living room of the Rose Mansion. Their naked skin was a healthy pink both from the heat of the shower as well as from the exertions of their other, extremely pleasant, activities of the evening.

"I got about halfway home when I realized I hadn't given you your Christmas present," the black haired girl grinned, "and then about halfway back the snow really started coming down. The bus got stuck about a mile from Lillian's gates so I had to walk the rest of the way."

"And what was so blasted important that you had to risk your health to give it to me?" Sakura asked heatedly, her temper flaring.

"This," Nana-chan grinned again and then leaned forward to kiss her lover tenderly on the lips. After another few very pleasurable minutes of kissing and fondling, Nana pulled the smiling, silent Sakura even tighter into her embrace such that there was hardly any place where naked skin didn't touch.

Despite her previous anger and concern at the danger Nana had put herself in, Sakura had to admit that it was the nicest Christmas present she'd ever received.

-oo-

Sadako shook her head and thought that, yes, technically it was an opera and, yes, it certainly was about Christ, but she still couldn't for the life of her imagine why anyone would consider this particular opera appropriate for a Christmas Eve performance. And it was in English no less! Tchaikovsky's _Christmas Eve_ would have been a better choice. The brown haired nurse thought that Shizuka would have been the perfect Oxana.

And yet, despite her confusion, she couldn't help but sit in the box seat Shizuka had reserved for her and allow her lover's voice to completely encompass her and fill her through every pore.

I don't know how to take this.

I don't see why he moves me.

He's a man, he's just a man.

And I've had so many men before

In very many ways;

He's just one more

Even though, in her opinion, the makeup artist had gone to far too great a length to make her look like Yvonne Elliman, Shizuka's own looks, style and personality came through easily. She _was_ Mary Magdalene. Every iota of Mary's confusion, pain, fear, and love for the man sleeping with his head in her lap was caught and held by the audience, as was their love for the songstress playing the part on that small stage in a Paris opera house.

Yet, if he said he loved me

I'd be lost, I'd be frightened.

I couldn't cope, just couldn't cope.

I'd turn my head, I'd back away,

I wouldn't want to know –

He scares me so.

I want him so.

I love him so.

The standing ovation at the end of the song was a given. It broke all protocol, but there wasn't a dry eye in the house, not a single soul that hadn't been moved. Sadako could almost see the reviews that would be written for the morning paper; chastising and yet understanding the audience reaction while lauding praises for the performer. Nothing else was possible…and it was still only the first Act!

The month of December had been a whirlwind of performances for the stately and beautiful opera singer. She'd played opera houses in Rome, Florence, Pisa, Prague, The Hague, London's West End, Amsterdam, and finally Paris. She hadn't actually been expected to play a part in this opera, but Shizuka's agent had been called by a very upset impresario who had begged her to allow the singer to perform. It seemed that the main actress was out of the country for the holidays and the understudy that had been scheduled to perform had been involved in an automobile accident on her way home from the theatre the previous evening and was at that moment lying in a hospital room suffering from a concussion.

It had meant putting off their own plans for the evening, but Sadako couldn't allow this opportunity to pass her lover by. The impresario, one of the most influential in the industry, had caught one of her performances at the Palais Garnier and refused to have anyone else but her on his stage to play the role of Mary. It would only be for a few nights, until the understudy was back on her feet, but with this one performance Shizuka could cement her name in the annals of European opera.

"You were fabulous, love," Sadako grinned at the tall, black haired woman sitting at her dressing table taking off her pancake makeup, "as expected," she chuckled. The dressing room she'd been assigned, the one originally given to the female lead, wasn't overly large but at least she didn't have to share the space with any other performers. Sadako brought her hands out from behind her and offered the diva a single long-stemmed red rose.

"Did you really think so?" Shizuka asked, still glowing from the audience's applause and the joy of performing to an appreciative crowd. She took the offered rose and sniffed it, sighing at its sweet scent. "And you didn't have to do this," she smiled, her eyes belying her words.

"Oh, then maybe I should," Sadako grinned before opening the door to show a young man carrying six bouquets of red roses in his over-stuffed hands, "send these back?" she giggled.

"Don't you dare!" Shizuka laughed and rushed to take the older woman into her arms and place a soft kiss on those pink lips that she dreamed about every night. "They're beautiful, just as you are," she whispered.

"Cheesy," Sadako chuckled and then kissed her brown-eyed lover, "but for some reason I like it when you say things like that."

"Good," Shizuka giggled and kissed her again, "because you'll be hearing it for a long time."

A cough from the doorway reminded them that they had an audience, but the boy had a wide grin on his face. "Um, where did you want me to put these?" he asked shyly. Both women giggled.

It was Christmas Eve, it was Paris, and they were in love. How could it get any better?

-oo-

"Do you still miss her?"

"Yes, in a way, but it's more like an old wound that's long healed."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, and I know just who to thank for healing me."

"You old man, you. Flattery will get you absolutely…aahh."

"Hmm? You were saying?"

"God, don't stop."

"Oh, don't you worry. I'm just getting started."

"But wait! You're the birthday girl!"

"Yeah, and the birthday girl gets to pick out the present she wants most, and tonight and every night hereafter, you're the present I want."

"Am I allowed to give a…oh, geez…yeah, right there…um, a present of my own?"

"Only when I'm done."

"I promise you'll…oh, dear Maria-sama…that you'll enjoy it."

"I'm enjoying myself now."

"You're so going to get…oh holy crap!"

"Tut-tut, such language."

"Stop talking with your mouth FUUUULLLL!"

("Heh, heh, heh. That'll teach you.")


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: A very Happy New Year to everyone. I apologize for the long delay in posting this chapter and hope that you will continue to be patient with me. RL has a way of getting in the way of writing and having the muse on an extended vacation hasn't helped in the least.

And just as a reminder, I do not own MSGM or any of its wonderful characters. All such honors belong to Oyuki Konno.

* * *

"Do I have to be naked again?" Yumi asked with a touch of trepidation while wringing her hands and dreading the answer. The last time she'd posed for Sei-sama's portrait it had taken her weeks of embarrassment to finally become used to being essentially nude in front of the older girl. The chill in the Lillian University's secondary art studio hadn't helped in the least. You'd think that if there were going to be naked people in the room posing for paintings that they'd at least have turned up the heat.

"As much as I'd enjoy that," Sei smirked and gave the smaller girl a pointed leer, "and even though I still have dreams about those perky little tits of yours," she laughed lowly watching Yumi's face turn a bright red, "it's not you that I need to model for me this time," she finished with a chuckle as her eyes tracked over to the unquestionably most elegant of the four women then currently standing in her new loft apartment.

As a graduating senior she'd finally decided to move out of the dorms and find herself a place of her own with an eye toward the future. She'd found a large, well-lit loft space in Shinjuku Ni-chome above a closed furniture store that she had thought somewhere down the road might make a decent site for an art gallery. While she never flaunted it, like most of the other Lillian girls she was more than fairly well off. Her non-existent parents had funneled enough guilt money to her accounts that she could probably live quite nicely never working a day in her life, but that wasn't what she wanted for herself. While her parents were satisfied gallivanting all over the world without a care for anyone or anything, Sei had found herself a larger purpose. Two in fact. One being her art, the other being a certain black haired beauty that could always find a way to make her smile and made life worth living. With those two in mind, she'd felt no guilt in using her blood money to purchase the entire building. Even if she eventually decided to move it wasn't like property values in Tokyo were going to drop anytime soon. Her new place was one more step in becoming independent as well as a fairly decent investment.

Being toward the end of the school year, the Art Department was once again holding a show and auction where the proceeds from the sales of student artwork would be donated to charity. She was once again going to be entering a painting in the auction. It would be her completion project as well as her masterwork for her Bachelor's degree.

For this piece she intended to go a bit more conservative than she had with Yumi's painting and, of course, her model also had to be a bit more conservative even though she'd loosened up a bit since she'd fallen in love with a certain pigtailed girl.

"No," Sachiko stated flatly as she crossed her arms beneath her breasts and Yumi expelled a soft sigh of relief.

"Ah, but Sachan," Sei chuckled again.

"Was I unclear? The answer is an unequivocal 'no'," the raven haired woman glared at her senpai.

"Sachiko," Youko said softly from where she stood as Sei continued to simply chuckle.

"Onee-sama!" Sachi squeaked.

"Sachiko," Youko said with just the smallest touch of sternness.

"But onee-sama!"

"Sachiko."

"But…but."

"Sachiko."

"Y-yes…onee-sama," the heir to the Ogasawara Zaibatsu acceded to her grande soeur's wishes, her chin dropping to her chest in defeat.

"Is that really fair, Youko-sama?" Yumi harshly asked her lover's big sister. "You're not giving her any choice at all. In fact, I seem to remember something very similar occurring about three and a half years ago. Something about bullying Sachi into doing something that she didn't want to do."

"Ah, but look how well that turned out," Youko grinned innocently. In fact she would never, could never, forget how on a warm September day nearly four years ago her then petite soeur and en Bouton had flung open a door in a tirade only to fall face first into this wonderful brown-eyed girl. Back then, even through her own emotional pain, Yumi had pushed aside her inherent timidity to argue with the three most powerful and respected students at Lillian Girls' Academy and had the temerity to tell them that they were being unfair to force Sachiko to do something that she didn't want to. Unfortunately for her petite soeur, that was then and this was now. "What can I say? Just call me a meddler."

"Meddler," Yumi said without a hint of respect.

"Evil meddler," Sachiko mumbled.

"Delightful, loveable meddler!" Sei crowed.

"Oh shut up," Youko laughed. "Is this how you treat your respected elders? Don't answer that question, Yumi-chan," she laughed again when she saw the young girl starting to open her mouth, "or you'll be showing the world those cute little nips again." Yumi's mouth closed with an audible snap as her cheeks reddened.

The sapphire-eyed Sachiko sighed with resignation. "Where do you want me, Sei-san?"

"Lie down on the divan," the blonde replied with a grin and a wave toward the indicated piece of furniture as she moved behind her easel and picked up a stick of charcoal. The daybed-like sofa was similar to the one she'd used for Yumi's portrait, but this one was covered with a large bamboo print. "I want your head to my right, with you lying with your back against the arm of the divan." When Sachiko had taken the requested position, Sei asked her to raise her right knee and pull her foot closer to her rear end. The irritated artist then moved to the sofa to better direct the placement of her model. Five minutes later she was at least somewhat accepting of Sachiko's position after moving the slender heiress' left foot to the floor and she moved back behind her easel and finally started sketching in long, sweeping strokes.

"You really are mean Youko-sama," Yumi whispered to her quasi-grandmother as they sat at what the blonde artist was using as a kitchen table watching their two lovers work while sharing cups of tea. Her lips formed into a slight smile before she went on. "Although I would have thought that Sachi had already gotten over having to do everything you say."

"Oh, she has," Youko laughed. "She just wanted to make sure Sei knew that she was not doing this willingly and that Sei would now owe her big time."

"There is that," Yumi giggled.

"I think Sachiko intends to once again request that she be allowed to become Sei's patron and, with this, I think my dear lover will finally have to agree."

"Sei-sama could certainly do a lot worse, although I doubt she really needs one; at least financially."

"That is true," Youko nodded knowingly. "What will benefit her most will be the ability to pull out and use the Ogasawara name if she really ever needs to. It won't hurt to get a little backing for her shows, but for day-to-day living expenses she has all that she needs. She will never be a 'starving artist'."

Despite their ongoing conversations, Yumi hadn't actually spent a whole lot of time looking at her senior. Instead she'd been focused more on her lover lying across the room on a sofa and looking just as delicious as she could possibly be. Twice now she'd noted Sachi scrunching her nose slightly and now knew what it was that the black haired girl needed. "If you'll excuse me for a moment, Youko-sama," she said as she got up from her chair and tiptoed over to where Sachiko was reclined upon the divan.

As quietly as she could she bent over to gently scratch Sachiko's itchy nose. However, being Yumi, she over extended herself and had to grab hold of her love's raised knee to steady herself.

"FREEZE!" Sei exclaimed from behind her easel.

"Ah, crap," Yumi sighed and closed her eyes. Sachiko couldn't help but giggle at Yumi's suddenly defeated tone, even as the younger girl blissfully continued to relieve the itch on the bridge of her nose.

A few minutes later Sei had Yumi positioned the way she wanted her which only required a few minor adjustments. Yumi's right foot had been moved forward a touch so that it was more comfortable and she'd been directed to put her left knee between Sachiko's legs while keeping her left hand on Sachi's right knee. Finally, Yumi's right hand had been moved from her lover's nose such that she was gently pressing down on Sachiko's shoulder. It now appeared as if Sachiko's lover was about to crawl onto her as she lay on the divan – or as if she'd just been pushed down onto the sofa.

"Yumi, please instruct Sachan in how to memorize her positioning," Sei requested as she once again began using her charcoal to add Yumi into the picture.

"Memorize…," Sachiko asked.

"It's like I told you when I was modeling for Sei-sama last year," Yumi offered. "You need to try to memorize your position on the sofa so that you can recreate it at will. That means not only memorizing where your butt and back hit the cushion or the placement of your arms and legs, but the actual way the muscles feel as you lay here in this position. Call it a form of muscle memory," she added. "The next time you lie down you need to be able to recall not only the position, but the actual feeling of the muscles in your legs, back, arms, wrists, fingers, and neck."

"That seems like an awful lot to memorize, Yumi," Sachiko offered with a touch of concern.

"Believe me," Yumi giggled, "it's a lot easier than having to spend ten minutes or more having Sei-sama reposition you each time along with telling you how difficult a model you are."

"Are you going to have them wear these clothes every time?" Youko asked her lover.

"No," Sei replied without once taking her eyes away from either her models or her canvas as she rough sketched the pair on the sofa. "Next time I'll put them in yukatas or kimonos. I haven't decided which yet."

"Ah, I think I see where you're going," Youko snickered and Sei smirked.

"I don't want to know," Yumi sighed, briefly closing her eyes to the sound of Sachi's giggles.

At the next sitting Sei produced a medium blue Edo Komon kimono for Sachiko that had a small patterning of leaves that, when viewed from further away, became the feathers of a crane. For Yumi she produced a short, pink floral yukata that would give her a more doll-like quality and emphasize her youth. By the time the two were dressed they looked like a stylish twenty-something ojou-sama and a cute little middle-schooler.

"So you're going with the pedophilia image," Youko giggled softly to her blonde lover.

"Actually," Sei grinned, "just the opposite. Remember just who is on top appearing to have pushed the other down onto the divan," she chuckled evilly.

"You are so wicked," the black haired woman laughed, receiving a lecherous smirk as her only reply.

Once Sachiko and Yumi were again positioned properly, Sei walked over and began the process of partially undressing them. She untied and loosened Sachi's obi before parting the top so that a large expanse of porcelain skin lay naked to the eye. The raven haired heiress was exposed from neck to waist, the globes of her ample bosom visible while somewhat maintaining her modesty by keeping her nipples covered. A smile touched the blue-eyed girl's lips as she watched Yumi's cheeks redden at the alluring sight being slowly unveiled to her. The final touch was to spread the fabric below the obi so that Sachiko's left leg was naked and her right was just barely covered by the silken garment.

After that it was Yumi's turn for her obi to be loosened and the top of her yukata pulled open so that it dangled down a bit on the left side.

"You really are a dirty old man, Sei-san," Yumi growled aggrievedly. "I knew you just wanted to see my breasts again. Now I know why you didn't provide a juban undergarment."

"Ah, you wound me, Yumi-chan," the taller girl grinned. "All I'll paint is shadow along with a hint of shape and substance. Nothing too erotic."

"Everything you paint is erotic," Yumi laughed. "Even my church elevation you painted last year…did you really need to give the angels nipples?"

While the two of them traded jibes, Youko was content watching her petite soeur's face as she stared unabashedly at the body hovering above her. She laughed as she watched her little sister reach up and slightly adjust Yumi's yukata so that, Youko assumed, she and only she could see the pigtailed girl's naked right breast.

"Taking advantage of the situation?" she asked her little sister sotto voce.

"Don't you think I should get something out of this myself, onee-sama," Sachi smirked, earning herself a giggle from her grande soeur. As Yumi and Sei continued to trade increasingly racy comments Sachiko rolled her eyes and, because it was right there in front of her, lifted her head and gave a soft, wet lick to the puffy nubbin so temptingly close. Yumi's shriek of surprise had both Sei and Youko rolling on the floor in laughter. "If you two will please stop jabbering at each other, I'd like to get home for dinner at some point. Yumi and I still have final exams to study for," Sachiko stated in a flat voice, overriding Yumi's whimper of "Onee-samaaa."

"Ah, why don't I quiz you while you're posing?" Youko offered once she'd calmed down from her hilarity.

"Actually, Youko-sama," Yumi interrupted with a glare at Sachiko that got the older girl giggling again, "could you bring me up to date on the latest project with the Diet?"

"Ah," Youko grinned, "for that I have very good news. After working closely with our friends at the Rainbow Fund, when the Diet reconvenes after the holidays they will be voting on the Defense Spending Act. Our friends in both houses have agreed to attach a rider to the bill that will put into place laws that constitute the first ever set of civil rights laws aimed at protecting the rights of individuals and making it illegal to discriminate in housing, employment, medical treatment, education, access to facilities and half a dozen other measures on the basis of sex, race, religious belief, national origin, disability, marital status, age, sexual orientation or gender identity. And instead of simply giving lip service to it as they have in the past with regards to discrimination against foreigners, for the first time heavy penalties and fines will be levied against those that violate the laws. As you predicted, Yumi, it will quickly become bad business to discriminate against others." She looked over to her own petite soeur and gave her a warm smile. "Sachiko, never again will you see a sign that says 'Japanese Only' on any public establishment."

"But do we have enough votes?" the brown-eyed girl asked while doing her best not to move her jaw. Despite her lover's teasing and her shriek of surprise she'd remained in her position above Sachiko while Sei returned to work behind her easel.

"We do, although the business faction is planning on putting up a fight to at least reduce the penalties. Don't worry though. They don't have the backing they need to make any real changes. The bill should pass as written by a wide majority. Finally," she took a deep breath, "the Emperor has already agreed to sign it," the Foundation's legal expert grinned. "In fact, he's looking forward to it."

Yumi couldn't contain her jubilation and even accepted the scolding she received from Sei-sama for moving and clapping her hands. The news was just too good to not get excited over. "Truly, thank you for all your hard work on this, Youko-sama," she beamed at the older girl. "With everything else going on it was more your doing than anyone else's that saw this dream achieved."

Youko simply nodded her head in receipt of the acclaim her grandchild was bestowing on her. She decided to keep it to herself just how often the mention of Yumi's name opened doors for her that had previously been firmly closed. Yumi would just blush and stutter and claim it was all her own hard work, so why put the small girl through all of that. Especially since her petite soeur was giving her a smiling look that implied that she knew just how much Yumi had contributed to the bill's success.

"Okay, now will you all shut up so I can finish this section?" Sei snapped, but not really angry. She too was happy about the news. Now, if they could just get the third leg of their rickety platform accomplished…

There was a certain black haired beauty that she fully intended to wed at the earliest opportunity.

-oo-

Back in Musashino, in a lavish dorm room at Hanadera U, Suguru Kashiwagi was sitting at his desk trying to study for his final exams, but having a bit of difficulty staying on task. Instead of Keynesian Economics and Trickle-Down Theory, his mind kept wandering to a certain young man - no, woman - that had somehow found a way to fill his heart with love, but at the same time fill his mind with doubt.

The heir to the Kashiwagi business empire had known from a very early age that he was only sexually attracted to other men. He'd had his first sexual encounter at the age of ten when he and a friend of his at the time decided to 'compare' their equipment. Comparing led to touching which led the two boys to their first orgasms. It had also led to the end of that friendship.

He'd lost his virginity at the age of thirteen with another friend and fellow Hanadera student. That relationship lasted a bit longer, but only until the other boy's parents found out about their liaisons. His friend had been pulled out of Hanadera the next day and shipped to a school in Haru Prefecture along with a stern warning that if he ever spoke to Suguru again he would be disinherited. That bit of information had come in the form of a one-time letter with no return address. Since the boys had only been sex friends it hadn't hurt overmuch, but it had hurt nonetheless.

He'd only tried sex with a girl once and that was with a prostitute he'd run across when he had been required to join his father on one of the older Kashiwagi's many business trips. Suguru had been fifteen at the time and the young woman had been twenty, or so she'd claimed. Throughout the entire incident he'd had to close his eyes and imagine one of his male friends just to get it up. He'd wilted almost immediately upon entering the girl. Once again he had turned to his imagination to try to believe that it was a young man's mouth or anus he was pumping rather than the woman's vagina, but his mind just wasn't up to the task. The two had parted not much later, the woman several thousand yen richer and Suguru still aching to the point where he'd had to take care of the situation himself. The experience had, however, solidified in his mind the knowledge that he would never be sexually attracted to a woman.

So why was he so attracted to Alice?

That was the conundrum he was fighting while unsuccessfully trying to study for his final exams. Every word in his books, every symbol and kanji, every formula, they all faded away to be replaced with the image of a young man or woman depending solely upon the clothes in which the body was attired. It wasn't fair – he knew it wasn't – but instead of seeing the woman that he knew Alice to be, all he could see was a blurring of the two. His mind still had difficulties grasping the fact that Alice, despite the lower portion of her body, was wholly female.

The confusion he was feeling, the trepidation, wasn't new. He'd been feeling it growing inside him for over a month. Just before the start of the holiday break he'd invited Alice to a party being thrown by a business associate of his family's company. Alice had joined him in 'girl mode' just as she had before on numerous occasions. There hadn't been a scene like had occurred at the Ogasawara party, but what had occurred was almost worse in its own way.

It had started almost as soon as they'd entered the large, lavish room. It was a formal affair, so Suguru had been wearing a designer tuxedo while Alice had worn a long white gown. No more than a few steps into the room and he'd noticed heads turning toward the pair. The sight of women turning to watch him was something he'd long become accustomed to. However, having men turn toward them to take in the sight of his lovely date was something altogether new. Those eyes had been full of wonder and not a little amount of lust as Alice sashayed into the room on his arm. She'd worn a bright smile, her eyes sparkling with life and love. The front of the gown was relatively demure, but had been low enough to show off Alice's new cleavage. The form-fitting dress had also showed off her slender waist and widening hips and a slit up one side had perfectly framed the tantalizingly appearing and disappearing shape of her lovely legs.

He wouldn't have been at all surprised to see drool on some of those male lips whose owner's eyes were ravishing his date. He could literally feel their hunger as they devoured what was, to them, the perfect woman-child; a lolita of unsurpassed innocence and beauty. Suguru had wanted to pulverize each and every one of them…but…he'd also seen just exactly what it was that they saw.

A young woman.

And it shook him much more than he was willing to credit.

As far as everyone in that room was concerned, Alice was a woman. And she ate it up while he boiled with both anger and confusion. They'd stayed at the party only long enough for propriety's sake. His date was confused at their early departure and even more so when she couldn't get him to answer the simple question of why they'd left so early. He knew Alice had been having a good time, but his own roiling emotions had forced him out of that hostile environment before he ended up doing something he knew he would later regret.

And he couldn't give her a good reason for their hasty departure. He just couldn't bring himself to tell her that he'd been angry and jealous of all of the men ogling her. Nor could he even attempt to put into words his own feelings of confusion. How it had disturbed him that as far as anyone at that party was concerned he'd had the perfect _female_ hanging from his arm. Neither of them had been happy at the end of the evening, but only he knew the real reason. That despite the appendage he knew hung between those shapely legs, Alice truly was a girl.

"And when she transitions fully, if she does, even that vestige will be gone," he sighed heavily. "She will be female. Period. And…and I don't know how I'll feel then. Thinking about it logically, we've been dating off-and-on for a few years when you consider the special events like those that he's accompanied me to. But this…relationship…is newer. We've really only been a couple for just short of a year. I love him…her. I really do love her. But after…after she's…after he's…DAMMIT!"

The Economics book slammed against the wall leaving a large dent as a too long pent-up scream of frustration and anguish issued from between full red lips. It wasn't the first scream to issue from behind a dorm room door during exam season and it certainly wasn't going to be the last. But it was most likely the first to have absolutely nothing to do with tests and scores and everything to do with the slow but inexorable formation of a hairline fracture in a human heart.

"Alice…" Suguru whispered as he covered his face with his hands and wept.

* * *

Since I'm not sure when the next chapter will come out, I hope you enjoyed this one. As always, your comments and reviews will be greatly appreciated ;-)

CX


	24. Chapter 24

The first Sunday of the new year had dawned overcast and cold with the smell of snow on the slight breeze that ran between the tall buildings of the city. Yuuki Fukuzawa, however, had awoken warm and toasty in the arms of his beloved Touko-chan in the hotel room they had rented for the night.

He'd had a meeting with a medical supplier the previous day to discuss their donation of bandages and other consumables for use by the now two free clinics run by the Rose Foundation. The second one had been opened in a derelict portion of the city that housed both the young and the old. Many of the medical schools in Tokyo had volunteered their doctors, interns, and residents to help provide care to the needy so that the current and future medical professionals would be exposed to diseases rarely seen in the larger university hospitals. Yuuki especially loved it when both parties received benefits from their symbiotic relationship.

The meeting had gone even better than expected since they received almost twice the amount in donated product than they had been anticipating. Yuuki was sure that having his pretty fiancé on his arm hadn't hurt things in the least.

After the meeting he and Touko-chan had spent the afternoon together enjoying the sights and sounds of the city, had a wonderful meal at their hotel, and then spent the rest of the evening in bed. Being awakened by the chirp of his cell phone just after dawn hadn't helped his mood, but at least Touko had slept through the interruption.

"I'll admit that I was a touch surprised when I received your call this morning, senpai," the younger, brown haired man said as he poured himself a cup of tea from the pot sitting in the middle of the table of an upscale restaurant in downtown Tokyo. Since he had already been in the city, Suguru had offered to meet him here rather than forcing him to leave earlier than was his want for which both Yuuki and Touko were grateful.

The two frighteningly good looking men had garnered more than a few appreciative glances from the women in the Sunday lunchtime crowd. Of course, Yuuki was oblivious to it all while Suguru was so used to it he patently ignored the looks, glances, and sensuously licked lips directed their way.

"I appreciate your taking the time to meet me, Yukichi," Kashiwagi-kun replied with a slightly, for him, embarrassed smile. "I know it's an important time for studying, and I hope that I didn't take you away from Touko-chan too early, but I just couldn't allow any more time to pass after the events at the Ogasawara estate." Yuuki nodded sagely, acknowledging that certainly, after the happenings at the Ogasawara "Girl's Night" on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, there was something going on with his senpai that needed to be addressed.

The holiday party had started off as normally as it had in the past. Since his sister wasn't sick this year the party had once again been held at Sayako-okaasama's and both he and Suguru-kun had been invited to join in on the fun. However, there was one major difference from the parties of the past. Alice had been invited to join them. Not only that, but she'd been invited to sleep with the others in the lady's room. Sayako had therefore formally and publicly, even if it was only among family and friends, acknowledged Alice as a woman. That announcement had occurred early in the party and Suguru had ended up sullen and pouting the rest of the weekend.

He hadn't done anything untoward or improper, but neither had he gone out of his way to spend time with the person he'd been dating for the past year and purported to love. Alice had noted his distance but hadn't said a word about it. She pasted a smile on her face and dove headlong into the games and girl talk to the point where that smile had eventually become genuine. Suguru, on the other hand, hadn't smiled much at all the entire time they'd been there.

Both of their attitudes had been noted and watched closely by their friends and family members. Yuuki had tried to draw out the issues between his senpai and one of his very best friends, but he had been rebuffed at the time by both of them with the usual "nothing is wrong." Yuuki hadn't pushed it, but it now appeared that at least his senpai was finally ready to talk.

"How…" the black haired young man started, but then stopped again. Proper manners were too ingrained in Suguru to allow him to fiddle with the tableware or his napkin, doing so would expose his nervousness, so he simply placed his hands in his lap as he tried to formulate exactly what he wanted to ask.

Yuuki waited patiently - neither asking nor prompting - simply there to do what he could for his friend.

"I," the blue-eyed bishounen sighed with resignation, "I don't even know where to start. I've known I was gay for so long that I've never even considered trying to be straight. Back when I accepted the arranged engagement with Sachan I figured that I'd be able to somehow muddle through enough to help the Ogasawara's obtain the heir they wanted, but even there I wasn't positive that I'd be able to get the job done. You can't imagine how relieved I was when Hiromi-kun forced me to call off the engagement."

"Well, that's…wait. Hiromi-kun did that?" Yuuki asked with a touch of astonishment as Suguru's words sunk in.

"Yes," Suguru snickered. "Hiromi-kun and Tsutako-san both, although it was Hiromi-kun's idea at the time. They maneuvered me into a compromising position and videoed it. They threatened to post it to the web if I didn't break off my engagement with Sachan although I don't think they'd ever have really done it. All they wanted was give me a reason to do something that I had already decided to do myself, but for which I lacked the courage. I was too afraid of what the repercussions would be. But when they did that I realized that Sachan had friends around her that would support her even if her family didn't. It was enough to tip the scales.

"But we're straying from the point. The point is that I don't know if I would have actually been able to 'do the deed' with Sachan even then. The one time I tried to make love to a woman ended in total failure. I haven't tried since."

"And Alice-san's potential transition has you running scared," Yuuki huffed with disdain. "I thought you were stronger than this, senpai." Suguru didn't answer, but simply nodded his head, accepting the admonishment as deserved and leaving his chin against his chest at the end. "Have you spoken to her about it? No, of course you haven't," the brown-eyed boy sighed. "Otherwise you wouldn't have been acting like such a fool last weekend."

"You don't have to tell me that. I know myself how much of an ass I was. I just…Yukichi, I just don't know what to do. I mean, I know what I need to do, but how do I do it? How do you speak with someone about how much you're drawn to them, but also about you're wavering heart? How do you say 'please don't change…please deny yourself…please don't transition because I don't know if I'd be able to stay with you if you did? How the hell do I dare be so selfish?"

"If you don't ask her…if you are so stupid as to keep all of your feelings bottled up inside, aren't you denying yourself as well, senpai? If Alice were to transition she would be fully a woman. Would you deny your own homosexuality and stay in a heterosexual relationship? Would you stay in a relationship that you might come to detest – one in which you might not even be able to satisfy your partner not only physically, but emotionally as well – just because you don't want to hurt her feelings or ask the hard questions that need to be asked? More importantly, Suguru-kun, aren't you denying Alice her own feelings and desires? You're trying to make this decision all on your own when in fact it involves _two people_, not just yourself. Are you really being fair to Alice by handling it in that manner?"

Suguru was quiet for a moment before he raised his head and smiled. "Since when does the senpai learn from the kohai?" he chuckled.

"Since the kohai is right and the senpai is being a jackass," Yuuki grinned. "Let me ask you something. What is it that you love about Alice? Is it her sparkling personality? Is it the way she cares about all of those that are close to her? Her determination and courage to live life in the way and in the body that she wants to? Is it her looks or her small size? Or…is it that piece of meat that hangs down between her legs?" The younger man asked this last question with a snarl. "If that's the case, then you should just go buy yourself a pepperoni stick and shove it up your ass."

"Yuuki!" Suguru erupted angrily, drawing attention to them as he half stood in his chair. By the slight smirk he saw on his friend's lips he knew he'd been drawn into that eruption. "I see I'm not the only asshole at this table," he chuckled lowly as he retook his seat.

"Seriously, Suguru-kun, I know that you and Alice have been sexually active. Do you honestly believe that she has not enjoyed herself at those times? I mean, I myself am not overly anxious to attempt anal, but from everything I've heard it's a more than pleasurable experience if you have the right partner. Don't you think that Alice would have said something if she didn't enjoy it?" Suguru shook his head, but smiled. "Look, senpai, you need to be having this discussion with Alice, not with me."

"I know that, and you're right," the dark haired man answered. "I'll call her and set up a place to meet so that we can discuss this sooner rather than later."

"Good," Yuuki smiled briefly, "but let me tell you one more thing, senpai."

"Yes?"

"If you hurt that girl, I'll cut yours off and shove it up your ass so you don't have to worry about it ever again," he said in all seriousness.

"Understood, Yukichi," Suguru grinned. "I'll even hand you the dull, rusty knife."

"Just so long as we understand each other," the younger man nodded.

-oo-

"I swear I was ready to pop that pompous ass in the nose!" Yumi growled as she flexed a fist to show her determination. The response from the brown haired girl sitting on the sofa in their first-floor apartment behind RMII was a smile and a giggle.

"Yumi-sama, it's all right. I'm not upset," Alice smiled. "I'm sure he had his reasons."

"How can you not be upset? What reasons could he possibly have that would justify his actions." Yumi squeaked. "Suguru-kun basically ignored you, his girlfriend, the entire party!"

Yumi's angry words, even though they were directed at a man not presently in a position to hear them, still seemed to find a target as Alice's lower lip began to quiver slightly before she figuratively took it in hand by biting it. The hands in her small lap clutched at each other tightly for the same reason, but she couldn't seem to keep her body from squirming slightly as her so tightly controlled emotions that she'd been fighting for the better part of a week finally began to get the better of her. Tears held in check behind a dam of determination threatened to spill over at Yumi's obvious concern for her.

"She _is_ upset, Yumi," Sachiko said as she came out of the kitchen carrying a tray with three cups of Earl Grey for themselves and their guest. The raven haired woman carefully set the tray on the table as she continued. "Alice is just so used to putting on masks of false happiness to hide her pain that it's almost second nature for her now. In that way she's probably a better actress than Touko-chan."

"I-is that true, Alice?" Yumi asked quietly from where she sat across from her friend.

"S-Sachiko-samaaa," Alice cried out in a pitiful voice, losing the emotional fight and leaping into the embrace of the much taller girl.

"Shh, it's all right, Alice," Sachiko cooed soothingly as she allowed the younger girl to cry into her chest, the tea and cakes forgotten and overcome by the needs of her young friend. It was such a deja vu moment that she nearly laughed. "This reminds me so much of when we first met, Alice," she offered with a soft smile as the smaller girl's tears eventually slowed under her comforting care. "It's because of you and Yuuki-kun that I was eventually able to rid myself of my hatred of men. But look at yourself as well. Look how much you've changed in just a few years."

"I have," Alice sniffed, a small vestige of her previous smile beginning to once again grace her lips. "That's why I believe I understand what's bothering Suguru-kun." At the somewhat befuddled look she received from her pigtailed friend she actually allowed herself a soft giggle. "Yumi-sama, as Sachiko-sama has just said, look at how much I've changed over the past few years." Alice stepped away from the taller woman and did a slow twirl in her navy skirt and white blouse. "Not only have I grown a few centimeters, I am now very comfortable wearing women's clothing. Since I started taking hormones almost a year ago I've physically changed as well. I've added some padding to my hips, my skin is smoother, and," she gently cupped her breasts, "I've gained B-cup breasts that are my own, not manufactured by Inoue Pharmaceuticals. In just about every way except for this," she cupped her groin, "I am a woman."

"I'm sorry, I still don't see…" Yumi shook her head only to have both her lover and her friend give out knowing chuckles that simply turned her confusion into petulance.

"Yumi-sama," Alice explained slowly and carefully, "have you forgotten that Suguru-kun is gay?"

"And I quote, 'I hate to tell you this, but I can only love other men'," Sachiko intoned in a formal manner.

The words her onee-sama spoke hit her like a ton of bricks and took her back to her first year at Lillian when the two of them sat speaking softly in the old greenhouse after Sachiko had run away from Suguru. Yumi slumped in her seat on the sofa as what Alice had been trying to tell her sank in. "Suguru-kun is gay. He only loves men, and yet you," she turned her surprised eyes up at the young trans standing in front of her and once again acknowledged to herself that the person in front of her was fully a woman…and yet not. The sadness in those light brown eyes as they looked back at her told her the entire truth. "He's afraid."

"Yes, Yumi-sama. He's scared," Alice agreed softly. "Nor can I really blame him for being so. We've been together for a year now and he's finally realizing that I am not a man, but a woman. Right now he's wondering if it is my intent to complete the transition and, if so, what that would do to our relationship."

"Do you?"

The words came not from Yumi, but from the young woman now sitting in one of the two chairs facing the sofa as Alice slowly took a seat in the other.

"I don't know, Sachiko-sama," came the soft answer. "Unlike some transgendered, I actually don't hate my genitals. Logistically, I would have to live as a woman for at least a year before my doctor would even consider performing the surgery. Doing so while I am attending Hanadera U, a men's university, would be…problematic," she chuckled.

"Speaking of which, are you still binding, Alice?" Sachiko asked in a concerned voice. "You know it's not good for you."

"When I started budding I did, but my doctor also recommended against it so I moved to sports bras. However, since my breasts have grown even larger I've even given up on that and now I just wear a bra underneath my undershirt, shirt and jacket." Alice giggled again. "Unless they've got their noses buried so deep into their books that they can't see anything else, I've pretty much come out to the entire Hanadera population. Even with a shirt, coat, and tie it's pretty hard to hide them these days."

"That hasn't caused any problems has it?" It was Yumi's turn to look concerned.

This time Alice outright laughed. "I've been groped a couple times, usually in my physical education classes, but nothing malicious. Mostly they're just curious. And that was more than four months ago. Nothing's happened since then. I guess the novelty has worn off," she shrugged.

"Then I guess what Yuuki-kun told us really was true despite our initial skepticism," Sachiko mused with a small grin at her lover that was quickly matched by Yumi.

"…"

It was Yumi's and Sachiko's turn to laugh at their friend.

"Alice, do you have a senpai named Hattori?" Yumi asked with a chuckle.

"Yes," Alice replied in a still confused tone. "We have a few of the same classes and we typically walk to them together. How do you know Hattori-kun?"

"Have you ever bothered to glance around you while you walk between classes or to and from the dining hall when he isn't with you?" Sachiko asked with a smirk.

"No, I never really thought about it. What's this all about Sachiko-sama, Yumi-sama?"

"The reason you haven't been molested, or worse, for the past number of months," Yumi explained, "is because of Hattori-kun and a few of his 'friends'."

"It appears that there is an unofficial club at Hanadera U," Sachi continued. "They call it the AAFC."

At Alice's continued befuddlement Yumi explained the acronym. "It stands for the Arisugawa Alice Fan Club," she laughed.

"Hattori-kun is the president of the fan club and the members are the ones that follow you between classes and in gym class to ensure that you don't run into any trouble. They've been acting as informal bodyguards for you," Sachiko giggled.

"WHAAAAAAT!"

It took the three a while to stop their giggling and/or stupefaction at this revelation, but they did eventually return to the original topic.

"I honestly haven't decided whether or not I'm going to eventually transition. Either way, I have a minimum of two, more like three years to decide. Assuming that I do my graduate studies at Hanadera it could be even longer." Alice got quiet for a moment before speaking again. "Suguru and I have only been together for a year. I firmly believe that I love him, but as for how we'll feel about each other three or four years from now? I can't see that far into the future. I do know one thing however."

"What?" Yumi asked with a smile, believing she already knew the answer.

"If I continue to love Suguru as much as I do now, or if my love for him grows even stronger, I will certainly take his feelings into account when making my decision," the smaller girl replied with a smile. "I would like to spend the rest of my life with that man. If keeping a piece of me that God decided to give me in the first place will help me keep that man, then my decision is already made. As I said before. As far as _I'm_ concerned, I am already a woman."

-oo-

"So, did Alice and Suguru-kun have that little talk?" Sei asked offhandedly from behind her easel as she added color to the portrait of Yumi and Sachiko.

They were all once again in Sei's loft apartment with Yumi leaning over her lover's recumbent form on the couch while Youko was perusing some legal documents at the kitchen table. The two models were in their disheveled kimono and yukata, their assets nearly spilling out of the open garments. Sachi was in an especially teasing mood this afternoon and would every so often lick her lips seductively while staring at Yumi's breasts, causing the younger girl's face to redden slightly with a combination of embarrassment and desire. For this reason Yumi had already decided that she'd get back at her girlfriend later that evening by employing a few of the new 'toys' they'd picked up as Christmas gag gifts from Sei and Youko. Her brown eyes were telling her lover just how she'd get back at her when they got home while Sachiko's blue eyes seemed to be saying 'bring it on.'

Out of everything that she'd learned from being a model for Sei-sama, the one that most affected her was the fact that being somewhat undressed in public seemed to be a turn-on for Sachi. Their love life had literally skyrocketed after the start of the sessions. Her raven haired beauty had also suddenly become a bit more adventurous when it came to the use of 'toys' and costumes. Yumi was nervously awaiting the day that Sachiko suggested that they do it on their apartment's wraparound porch. Who'd have thought that Sachiko Ogasawara, the heiress to the Ogasawara Zaibatsu, was a closet exhibitionist?

It took a true effort for Yumi to gather her concentration enough to answer her senpai's question. The smirk on Sachi's lips told her she knew just exactly where her mind had been…and wasn't in the least bit surprised.

"Um, yeah, they did," Yumi managed to reply. "Alice told me that they both laid everything out on the table. Suguru even admitted to his fears of her becoming anatomically female and what impact that might have on their relationship."

"I'm impressed," Sei smirked, raising her eyes only briefly from her canvas before going back to her painting. "I didn't think that boy had it in him to openly admit his fears. Oh my, they grow up so fast," she snickered.

"It helped that Alice had pretty much already figured them out on her own," Yumi nodded very slightly while smiling at her remark. "She was able to voice them first so that all he had to do was agree that it was 'scaring the shit out of him'," she said, the quotation marks coming through easily in her words. She didn't even stumble over the profanity despite her personal distaste for the word. "It helped that she won't be doing anything for a few years at least. I think the best thing that came out of it was that they both agreed that they wouldn't hold back or bury their feelings anymore. From now on they'll talk about everything."

"It sounds like they're both maturing nicely," Youko said from her seat at the table, glancing up from the papers in front of her with a smile on her lips. "Now if I could just get someone _else_ to be so forthright," she added with a raised eyebrow and a pointed look at the artist in the room.

"Hey, a girl's got to have some secrets," Sei complained with a cute pout followed immediately by her patented smirk.

"Hmm," Youko smirked right back at her. "You mean like the fact that there's a certain artist I know who seems to be a secret lolicon given how often she likes to have her girlfriend dress up in middle school sailor outfits?"

"HEEEYY!"

"Now you know why she loved hugging and teasing you so often Yumi-chan," Youko laughed.

Both Yumi and Sachiko ended up on the floor laughing while Sei's face turned a very bright shade of red. Needless to say they got no more painting done that night. They did, however, decide to have a fashion show and, for some inexplicable reason, Sachiko and Sei bonded together more than they ever had in the past.


	25. Chapter 25

A/N: It's been a while, so I figure I should go ahead and once again provide the usual disclaimer.

I do not own MSGM or any of its characters. All such honors belong to our much missed Oyuki Konno-sensei. I just like playing with them :-)

I also want to thank the good DrYuriMom for being willing to assist with all of my projects. Now if I could just get her focused on Bea...(LOL)

As always, your comments/reviews/PMs would be most greatfully and graciously appreciated.

* * *

Everyone knew that it would happen one day, and most likely sooner rather than later. The way she drove she was like an accident waiting to happen. Maybe, despite their somewhat rocky relationship, Maria-sama was watching over her that cold February morning when her tires hit a long slick of black ice and her little Beetle went spinning out of control. The airbag that deployed when she hit the guardrail saved her from major head and chest trauma, but only at the cost of a broken ulna in her right arm. The tibia in her left leg also sustained an oblique simple fracture since she had been uselessly standing on the brake pedal when the front end of her little yellow car crumpled nearly to the firewall.

She'd been lucky that the car was so foreshortened since the delivery truck that had been following behind her missed the bug's rear end by a hair's breadth. After that it was all shrieking brakes, flashing lights and sirens, and an ambulance trip to the closest hospital's emergency room. Youko had shown up in less than an hour, almost before the orderly came in to take the blonde artist down to radiology for x-rays and a CT scan. She arrived at the ER examination room at the same time as the orderly, so Youko followed the two of them down to radiology and hung around until they were done and sent her back up to the ER.

Finally, after nearly two hours, Sei was allowed to have some pain medication.

As far as the Lillian University senior was concerned, someone had definitely been looking out for her since she'd put the final touches on the portrait sized painting of Yumi and Sachiko the evening before the accident. She could deal with crutches, or even a wheelchair if necessary, but with her arm in a cast any painting was out of the question. Silently, without disturbing her reading girlfriend, Sei closed her eyes and said a quick prayer of thanks to Maria-sama for watching out for her.

"My poor baby," Sei moaned from her newly acquired hospital bed. She'd been temporarily admitted into the orthopedic wing which, surprisingly, actually had an open bed. The only other choice in the busy hospital was a room in geriatrics that she would have had to share with an eighty-three year old woman with dementia. The availability of her current bed in a private room had earned the Madonna her third heartfelt bout of thanks that busy morning.

"If you loved your baby so much you should have treated her better," Youko replied with a sigh from where she sat in one of the most god-awful, uncomfortable chairs she'd ever sat in.

They'd both uttered these words at least three times since they'd gotten back to the ER from radiology. Youko was tired of hearing it. Now that Sei was no longer in "abundant" pain, as well as a bit loopy from the pain killers, Sei's monotonous mumbling about her "baby" was driving her crazy.

"But…"

The sound of a hardback law textbook slamming to the tile floor echoed through the room while, at the same time, a hard-backed blue plastic chair bounced off the wall before falling on its side with a loud clatter.

"DAMMIT, SEI!" Youko shouted in such a soft voice that it cut through the misty fog of painkillers and warned the blonde of the dangerous shoals she had been heading toward and was about to encounter. "You could so easily have been hurt worse than a couple of broken bones," Youko sobbed as she stepped over to the bed so that she could lean down into her girlfriend's face. "You could have had a head injury, or a back injury. You could be lying here unable to feel your extremities because your spinal cord had been severed, or in a coma with no knowledge of what's going to happen to you and no way to tell us," she had to stop to gasp, unsuccessfully trying to hold it all in, "to tell me…what to do."

The tears free-falling from the black haired woman's eyes landed on Sei's cheeks and pillow as Youko leaned even closer. The utter fear in those eyes pierced her heart.

"Or…" Youko sobbed, "or you could be downstairs…lying on a metal table…waiting for some doctor to cut you open with a Y incision as they start your autopsy." Youko's tearstained face pressed heavily between Sei's gowned breasts as she grabbed the sheets on either side of the blonde in her tight fists. "I could have lost you," she wept quietly. "That damn car can be replaced, but you…you are irreplaceable, so forget about the _fucking_ car for one moment and beg me for my forgiveness and promise me you'll never scare me like that again, dammit!"

Sei used her good left arm to pull the crying girl to her so that she could hold her close as she whispered, "I'm sorry, Youko. Please forgive me. I was stupid to be driving that fast in that weather. I wasn't thinking."

"No, you certainly weren't thinking. Certainly not about me, who would be left behind, alone, if you had died. Not about your friends who would have missed you. Promise me you won't ever be so stupid again."

"I promise, Youko," the blonde whispered as she tightened her hold on the woman she loved more than life itself. "I promise I will never scare you like this again," she said as she placed kiss after kiss onto the top of that dark haired head. "I promise."

"You'd better," Youko sniffed, trying to dry her eyes on the blonde's hospital gown. She took a deep breath to gather her scattered emotions back together, "and your next car is going to be a god damned H1 Hummer! It's the closest thing they make to a tank these days."

"They're not very environmentally friendly," Sei chuckled until her girlfriend punched her in the side just enough to hurt her sore ribs.

"Maybe not, but it'll keep you safe."

"I'd probably end up killing someone."

"True. What about an H2?"

"Still too big…and not cute enough."

"We'll figure out something. It's not like you'll be able to drive yourself anytime soon."

"Maybe a motorcycle."

The sound of palm sharply contacting cheek echoed down the hospital corridor.

-oo-

"But I'm right handed!"

"Then learn to wipe with your left hand, dammit!"

"Geez, you're no help at all."

"What do you mean?! You better marry me after making me do this for you!"

"What! I have to marry you just because you wiped my counters? It wasn't like I was asking you to wipe my ass!"

"…"

"Um, Youko," Sei asked the dark haired girl worriedly as she noticed the sudden sparkle those hazel eyes. "Just what are you thinking?"

"Shh, Sei. Don't interrupt me. I'm imagining some things right now."

"You're starting to scare me…"

"What? Oh, forget that, you pervert! I was just wondering how this kitchen would look in reds and blacks."

"I never knew that Sei-sama could be such a great _boke_," Yumi giggled from her seat on the couch. "I'd always imagined her as the _tsukkomi._"

"In some situations, maybe," Sachiko chuckled, "but when onee-sama is part of the duo, she will always be the _tsukkomi_. It's only natural for Sei-san to become the _boke_ in such a situation."

"It's true," Eriko nodded solemnly. "Even during high school, Sei always ended up being the straight-man to Youko's funnyman. I mean, could you ever see Sei hitting Youko over the head with a _harisen_?"

Both Sachiko and Yumi "ahhhed" and then nodded sagely. Once again Eriko-sama had the right of it.

"Are they always like this?" the pretty little ten year old girl sitting on Yumi's lap asked as she watched the antics of her seniors.

Yumi had first met Aki Yamanobe toward the end of her second-year at Lillian Girls' Academy when Eriko-sama had brought the girl to Mama Cho's so that she could meet a few of her friends from high school and college. At the time, Aki had been a very cute, highly intelligent seven year old; a point which she made sure everyone knew since her birthday had just passed the previous month. She had also made it a point to let everyone know that she still wasn't sure whether she would accept Eriko in the role of a potential wife for her widower father. After all, there was a ten year age difference between the college student and the teacher…among other issues.

Aki's mother, Yamanobe-sensei's first wife, had died when she was just four years old. She'd inherited her mother's medium blonde hair and button nose while receiving her father's dark brown eyes along with his high intelligence. Her good manners and caring disposition were all the result of her loving mother since her father spent more time with his nose in books, or at the zoo looking at elephants and other large animals; at least when he wasn't teaching science at Hanadera Boys' Academy.

On another occasion, Eriko-sama had told her friends of the first time she'd met Aki-chan. It had been about six months after she'd first proposed to the dinosaur loving man. The three had met for lunch where Yamanobe-sensei had introduced Eriko to his daughter as "a friend" of his. The euphemism hadn't fooled the six year old in the least. Eriko had found herself quickly intimidated not only by the specter of the dead mother, but by the seemingly over-serious child as well.

Later that same day, as they had looked through an old family photo album in Aki-chan's room, the two women had formed a kind of pact. Eriko had been surprisingly open with the girl regarding not only her love for Aki's father, but her intentions of marrying the man at some point in the future. The end result had been an agreement between the two of them that they would be "beloved rivals" for Yamanobe-sensei's affections and attention.

But it hadn't taken too long for the young girl to warm up to the then nineteen year old Eriko. By the time Yumi met her, the two had seemed more like accomplices, even though she could see that Aki-chan was trying hard not to let Eriko in on the change in their relationship. It had made her wonder from which parent the cute, slender girl had inherited her diabolical sense of humor. She had a feeling it wasn't from her father.

Aki had also made a very pretty flower girl at the pair's wedding late last year.

"Pretty much, Aki-chan," Yumi giggled as Youko picked up a magazine, rolled it up in her hand, and promptly hit the wheelchair bound Sei over the head for mouthing another senseless comment.

"Lesbians are weird," the young girl said with a shake of her head, but with a hint of that wicked humor in her tone.

"Not all of them, Aki dear," Eriko pointed out to her precocious and much loved stepdaughter, "just Sei-obasan and Youko-obasan. You wouldn't say that Yumi-obachan or Sachiko-obachan are weird, would you?"

"Oh, no, Eriko-okaasan!" Aki squeaked, glancing worriedly between her two favorite aunts. "They're normal," she quickly explained. "It's just…" she looked over to where Sei and Youko were still arguing and wrinkled her little button nose, "those two."

"Well, good, I'm glad you're not lumping all lesbians into a group based just on those two comedians," Eriko sighed with relief. "But Aki, aren't you a little big to be sitting in Yumi-chan's lap?"

The little girl turned quickly to throw her arms possessively around Yumi's neck and clung to her tightly. "Never! Yumi-obachan's lap is comfortable!"

Yumi couldn't help but smile at the young girl's dramatics. She loved little Aki to death and hoped that her own child would be even half as bright and loving as Eriko-sama's and Yamanobe-sensei's little girl.

The only thing that could ever be better was if she and Sachiko could have a child of their own.

She'd always thought that for a child of theirs – with Sachiko's intelligence and business acumen and coupled her own, or so people assured her, fierce determination and gentle wisdom – Prime Minister Japan would be too low a goal. She thought that Secretary General of the United Nations might be a better fit.

"I'll have to agree with you Aki-chan," Sachi giggled. "I've always thought that Yumi's lap is extremely comfortable."

"Hey! Ten year old child here!" Eriko warned, no less protective a mother for the fact the child had not been born of her own body.

Aki rolled her eyes. "Like I don't already know what lesbians do for sex, Eriko-okaasan. Sei-obasan has always been very willing to help with my education."

"SEI!" Eriko screamed as Yumi, Sachi, and Aki laughed loudly.

"You really are truly evil, Aki-chan," Yumi told the girl as she hugged her tightly and gently pinched her nose.

"What can I say? I learned from my kaasan," Aki whispered with a loving smile for the woman that had become her mother in more than name and was now seemingly taking great joy in beating up and berating the blonde invalid regarding how she was corrupting a sweet and innocent minor. "But don't tell her I said that," the young girl told her aunt with a slightly more serious look. "She still thinks we're rivals for papa."

"It'll be our little secret, Aki-chan," Yumi agreed with just as serious a nod. She hoped that Yamanobe-sensei knew just how lucky a man he was to have the love of such amazing and fiercely possessive ladies.

"So," Aki asked, turning back to the arguing threesome that had moved from the kitchen area to the dining area, "are Youko-obasan and Sei-obasan really going to get married some day?"

Yumi grinned as she watched her seniors, but even a ten year old could see the rampant determination in her brown eyes.

"If I have anything to say about it, Aki-chan, they'll at least have the choice."

-oo-

"I have eight hundred and seventy-thousand yen. Going once…going twice…third and last call…SOLD at eight hundred and seventy-thousand yen!" the auctioneer called out in a strident voice as she brought the gavel down firmly on top of her podium.

"Fushiki-san's done well for herself," Sei said with a smile, "as expected of the member a family of famous artists."

The tall blonde had ended up using a motorized wheelchair for the first few weeks of her convalescence, at least long enough for the cast to come off of her right arm. Just the previous week her leg had been put into a walking cast which, in conjunction with a cane, gave her much more mobility along with a much better, and more forgiving, demeanor.

Youko had moved into the loft with Sei for those first few weeks, but now that she was getting around on her own the slightly shorter law student had moved back to her dorm room having found that trying to study with a bored and oversexed artist was a bit much to handle if she intended to graduate at the end of the term. At least one of them had to have a steady income.

"She is quite talented," Sachiko added with a nod, "even if her style is still a bit immature. However, I don't see the investment value at this point. That bid was based primarily on her family name and not on her own talent. I'm afraid the new owner is going to be disappointed when they go to try to sell it ten years from now."

"That's harsh, Sachan," Sei chuckled, "but I can't help but agree with you. Naomi-san will be great in a few years, but that wasn't the best example of her capabilities. I've seen other pieces of her work that are better, even if they do show a bit of immaturity in her technique."

Sei had told Yumi one day recently that one of the many things that her years at Lillian U had done for her was to allow her to explore various painting techniques. Through first copying old masters, to doing her own paintings in those styles, to where she was now producing her own artworks in her own style which was as unique as Sei herself. The only way you could describe it was as a fusion of Paul Gauguin, Henri Matisse, and Jin Homura, with just a touch of Reine Hibiki thrown in to make it interesting. Still, she knew her style would continue to change and mature as she got older, but she was still experimenting and having fun while doing it.

"Well, she's only a second-year at this point," the blonde smiled. "She still has some growing and learning to do. It will be interesting to see her completion project two years from now. At that point I think her work will be selling due to her talent and not her family name."

Sachiko merely nodded her agreement since the next piece up for auction, a small sculpture, was about to be described by one of the Art Department teachers.

It was Yumi, standing between Sei and Sachiko, who noticed another one of the art teachers moving quietly through the crowd at the back of the auditorium where they stood while trying unsuccessfully to get Sei's attention.

"Sei-sama," Yumi said quietly with a soft touch on Sei's arm and, when the taller girl looked at her, indicated with a slight nod of her head the young woman coming toward them.

"Hayase-sensei? Is there a problem?" Sei asked of the young teacher with the concerned look on her face.

"I'm sorry, Satou-san, but could I please ask you to accompany me? It appears that there is an issue with your painting," the black haired sensei asked in a quiet voice to try to avoid calling undue attention to them. With the slightest nod of her head, Sei turned to hobble after the quickly departing woman.

Yumi turned to look at Sachi, concern in her eyes, only to receive a slight smile and a nod. Both women turned to silently follow behind their friend.

The teacher led the trio out through the auditorium's double doors, around a corner and then down a hallway to another set of double doors. Based on their walk, none of the three were overly surprised to find themselves walking onto the hardwood flooring of the backstage area.

"I've brought her Sister Margaret," Hayase-sensei quietly told the back of a woman wearing the full white habit of a nun of St. Lillian including the scapular of the Immaculate Heart of Mary on its front.

Sister Margaret Anne McAllister was the Dean of the Arts College at Lillian University from which Sei hoped to graduate within the next two weeks. Some of her more senior educators thought that the fiery redhead with piercing blue eyes and a personality to match was too young for her position, but her extensive credentials, including two master's degrees along with her PhD in Art History and nearly twenty years behind the lectern teaching high school and college age students had more than earned her the current position she held at the university.

Her doctoral thesis, _Drill Curls Equals Tsundere_, had swept the manga, anime, and otaku worlds by storm.

"Sei-chan," the normally stoic sister nodded to the approaching artist. Even though her face was as chiseled as normal, Yumi was able to read both concern and pain in her expressive blue eyes. "I'm afraid that there has been an incident with your painting. If you'll follow me?"

"Of course, Sister," the tall blonde replied softly so as not to disturb the continuing auction.

Sei, along with her entourage of two, followed the Dean to a room off the back of the stage area where the pieces were being kept before and after they were auctioned off. Another professor stood at the door, acting as a guard for the student's art works, but she moved aside as they approached and then slipped through the double doors. Most of the items were draped by white muslin cloths to keep them from getting dirty and the good Sister led the trio to one such draped easel which contained, Yumi assumed, Sei-san's painting of herself and Sachiko.

She gasped and brought both hands to her mouth in shock when the drape was summarily removed to bring the painting into the light.

Spray painted in black across the fifty by forty centimeter canvas in large block letters was the word "HACK."

"Well," Sei chuckled lowly, "it seems we have an art critic amongst us."

Sachiko was obviously trying very hard not to scream her outrage at the vandalism of what amounted to hundreds of hours of modeling and painting time over the past two months, let alone its monetary worth. Yumi could see sparks flying behind those sapphire eyes she knew so well. She herself was desperately trying to hold back the tears that were already forming at the corners of her eyes.

"Sachan," Sei said softly, turning to her fuming friend and putting a gentle arm around her shoulders, "do you think I could impose on you to return the other painting so that it can be used in the auction?"

"So not only do you want me to return the gift you gave us, but you want me to then turn around and buy it at the same time?" the raven haired heiress choked out, her anger fading at the audacity of her good friend.

"You were gonna get it back in the end one way or another," the taller girl smirked, "and you know it's for a good cause. How about," she took a moment to supposedly think about it, but Yumi knew that she'd already made her decision on the matter, "how about I formally accept your patronage and give you right of first refusal on all my future works?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Sold!" Sachiko replied without a single moment's hesitation and went so far as to hold her hand out so that the two could shake on the agreement. Sei did so, laughing the entire time.

"Yumi-chan, do you think that you and Alice can bring the other painting over from your place and get it here in, say, twenty minutes or so?"

"We'll move your slot to the end of the auction," Sister Margaret nodded, "but is this really okay? This was going to be your masterwork. I know you've already been graded on it, but still…" she trailed off.

"I'll call Alice now and go meet her at our apartment," Yumi replied to Sei's request - putting action to her words as she started walking away while at the same time pulling her cell phone from her pocket - even as the grey-eyed artist turned to answer her dean.

"I promise, Sister," she chuckled, "neither you nor the eventual owner," she glanced again at a now beaming Sachiko, "will be disappointed."

"What will you do with this…" Sachiko waved a hand at what had at one time been an extremely beautiful painting.

Instead of answering, Sei gently lifted the painting and then set it on the floor so that it rested against the legs of the easel. In one swift movement she lifted her cast enclosed left leg and brought it down forcefully on, and through, the defaced canvas.

"There was no way to salvage it," she told a shocked Sachi. "The spray paint would have seeped through the pigments, even the oils in places where they weren't as thick as in others, and into the canvas itself. I'd have had to repaint the whole thing. It wasn't worth it."

"Well," Sachiko shook her head, "then I guess it's a good thing we learned our lesson from last year."

"I guess it is," Sei grinned in response.

-oo-

"Do I have five hundred thousand? Yes, there in the corner, thank you. I have five hundred thousand. Can I get five-fifty?"

The quick chant of the auctioneer seemed to be going non-stop as she took bid after bid for the nearly twice as large - one hundred by seventy-five centimeters - painting of Sachiko and Yumi dressed in disheveled yukata and kimono with Yumi pushing Sachi down with undisguised lust in her eyes and a reciprocating need in Sachiko's blue eyes.

The larger version of the portrait that Sachiko had agreed to sit for, and for which Yumi had been roped in to modeling for as well, had been leaning against the wall of Yumi's and Sachi's bedroom waiting to be hung. The smaller version, which Sachiko had talked Sei into painting after realizing last year that they should have painted two copies, wasn't able to show the same depth of emotions as the larger version did.

As soon as she'd seen the replacement painting, Sister Margaret had informed Sei that whatever grade she had gotten for the smaller version would be summarily increased by the same percentage of size between the larger and smaller versions. Since Sei had received a ninety-seven percent for the smaller version, Sister Margaret had essentially changed Sei's graduation diploma from reading "High Honors" to where it would now read "Highest Honors."

"Do I have eight hundred thousand? Thank you, I have eight hundred thousand. Can I get eight-fifty?"

"It's still going up in fifty thousand yen chunks," Yumi whispered in a small, overawed voice.

"Not surprising in the least," Sachiko smiled, and then frowned. "Of course, that means my first and final bid, which is going to be twice whatever the last bidder offers, is going to end up being through the roof. Sheesh! I hope that girl appreciates what I'm going through for her."

"I have eight hundred and fifty thousand yen? Can I get nine hundred? Thank you, the gentleman in the back row bids nine hundred thousand. Can I get one million?"

"HOW!" came a screech of unbridled indignation from a young girl sitting in the middle of the audience as she came straight to her feet. "How the hell does she get that much for that piece of garbage!? She's a hack, dammit! She doesn't deserve it!"

"I guess we now know who it was than vandalized Sei-san's painting," Sachiko sighed. "I would have thought she'd have known better, but I guess the rampant egotism in her family didn't skip her generation as I'd hoped."

The girl jumping up and down and screaming like a madwoman, Hoshi Fushiki-san, the second-year student whose painting had sold earlier for eight hundred and seventy thousand yen, was at that moment attempting to climb over the people in front of her to get to the stage.

From the pocket of her skirt she pulled out a small black can of spray paint.

"SHE'S A HACK!" the girl screamed.

"HOSHI!" a strong and stern male voice overcame even the artist's strident screams. "YOU WILL CEASE AND DESIST THIS INSTANT!"

Like a puppet with its strings cut, the young woman fell crying to the floor in the middle of a row of seats, the occupants doing what they could to get away from the obviously deranged artist and make room for the large man now moving down the aisle towards his fallen daughter.

"Fushiki Masao," Sachiko explained to her gape-mouthed partner. "Patriarch of the Fushiki family and a world-renowned sculptor and painter in his own right. I wouldn't want to be Hoshi-san right now. She'll be lucky if he allows her to finish school."

"B-but, Papa!" the second-year art student wept.

"I don't care if it's the world's best or the world's worst, Hoshi! You NEVER deface something that someone spent years, months, days, hours, or even only minutes pouring their life's blood into! It is a singular creation that can only be birthed by a specific person at a specific time. Who are YOU to say whether it's the work of a hack or the work of a genius! It's their CHILD!

"Sister Margaret was just telling me about a student's painting that was defaced! Was that your work?"

All the while he'd been berating his weeping child, much to the appreciation of all of the artists in the audience, he'd been slowly moving through the crowd to where she sat on the cold cement floor between rows. Now he knelt down in front of her to take the can of spray paint from her hand. One sniff told him of its recent use.

"Oh, child, what have you done?" he moaned. He turned to look up at the artist whose work had been destroyed. "Satou-sensei, is there any way that I can atone for my daughter's sins?"

Sei just shrugged and Yumi could see that she felt it was all now just water under the bridge, but one look at her lover and she knew that this was not the end of it.

Sachiko coughed. That's all she did. She coughed. Quietly.

It was enough to catch the old man's attention. Enough for her to look him in the eyes. Enough for him to understand.

"Sister Margaret," he called out. "What was the last bid for Satou-sensei's painting?"

"I believe that the last bid was nine hundred thousand yen, and the auctioneer had just asked for a million," the suddenly grinning sister replied.

"Fine," Masao Fushiki nodded. "I bid three million yen for the painting," gasps were heard throughout the auditorium, but the sculptor and painter wasn't finished, "the proceeds to go to the Rose Foundation, and the painting itself to be donated to the Foundation…" he turned to glance at Sachiko before finishing, "to be held and cared for by Ogasawara Sachiko-sama until she sees fit to dispose of it in whatever manner she should decide." He looked once more at the trio of women standing at the top of the auditorium with a look of query.

Sachiko gave him a small smile and a nod of acceptance.

"Is that acceptable?" he asked the nearly laughing sister.

"Eminently," she chuckled.

"Then shall we go somewhere to discuss how my daughter will be earning her way back into the school?"

"I think that would be a wonderful idea," Sister Margaret replied, her levity disappearing in an instant as she took in the countenance of the still weeping student that was, at least for now, still under her guidance. "I believe I have a few…thoughts…as to proper punishments."

Hoshi Fushiki shuddered at the predatory smile the good Sister turned in her direction.

"So," Yumi asked of her companions, crossing her arms over her small chest and giving them both a scowl, "which of you was it that wanted to live 'in interesting times'?"

Both women held up their hands and backed away.

"Not me!" they spoke in perfect unison.


	26. Chapter 26

Noriko sat at the kitchen table with a mug of steaming coffee held between her hands and her eyes only semi focused through the large picture window as she watched a couple of elderly women come wandering back down the cedar lined path that led to her partner's shrine. As the two women passed beneath the small torii at the beginning of the path, the black haired lover of Buddhist statues was taken by the radiance of their smiles and the sparkling of their eyes.

"Another pair of happy customers," she chuckled to herself.

It was still early morning and this pair was the last of those that Noriko had identified as regulars - those practitioners that came on a daily basis to bestow their small offerings and to be purified in return – who stopped by as a rule before beginning their daily lives.

It had come somewhat as a surprise to learn of the daily routine of a Shinto Priestess. Shimako was typically up long before dawn to prepare for the arrival of those devout enough to stop by the shrine on their way to work every morning and rarely came to their bed before ten o'clock in the evening after the last visitor had left. Although most of the shrine's visitors had no real need for the priestess' intervention, Shimako wanted to be available to them if that need should arise. Her pure and unstinting devotion to the shrine's visitors was only one of the many reasons why the young woman had been so completely embraced by the locals.

Like most practitioners of Shinto, it was hard to classify their true religious belief or allegiance. Every one of those that regularly visited Shimako's shrine was also a strong follower of Buddhism and attended her father's temple. Someone, at some time, had stated that while Buddhism was a religious practice, Shinto was a way of life. Births, coming of age ceremonies, weddings, New Year's celebrations, all of these events are primarily handled by Shinto priests and priestesses while deaths and the afterlife followed the rituals and beliefs of Buddhism.

When she was much younger it had been a great surprise to be told that many of the various embodiments of Buddha essentially consisted of the usurpation of one or more kami. For example, Shimako's shrine, devoted to the sun-goddess Amaterasu, could just as easily be devoted to the goddess' Buddhist equivalent, Dainichi Nyorai, the Great Sun Buddha. There were times when the syncretic nature of Buddhism and Shintoism could just as easily be applied to her own relationship with Shimako. They simply went together hand-in-glove, neither giving nor taking too much, only rarely getting in each other's way, and living daily as a harmonious whole.

They really were two halves of the same soul.

Noriko's eyes brightened and her smile widened as she watched the figure of her lover and partner coming down the path in her traditional red hakama and white haori, her dark blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail held by a wide, white ribbon. By the time the former Rosa Gigantea entered the kitchen through the back door, Noriko was there waiting for her with a cup of tea and a buttered croissant to help replenish her energy.

But first, the two shared a chaste but loving good morning kiss.

"Thank you, love," Shimako sighed appreciatively after she took her first sip of the hot English Breakfast Blend. "Despite it now being just on the cusp of spring, it's still chilly out there this early in the morning."

"I keep telling you to layer," Noriko replied as she led the slightly trembling miko to a seat at the table. "Your visitors aren't going to begrudge you a long-sleeved t-shirt and stockings. Instead, they'll be very put out when you're not available because you're stuck in bed with a cold."

"But tradition," the blonde started to defend herself, only to be hit with Noriko's own brand of retaliation.

"Like you haven't already broken a few traditions by being both a non-virgin as well as an only half-closeted lesbian," she smirked, delighted to see a blush suffuse that pretty, angelic face for reasons having nothing to do with the day's low temperatures. Noriko then moved to a set of hooks by the door to retrieve the shawl that she kept there and drew it around Shimako's shoulders. As soon as the shawl was in place, she draped herself over her lover's small frame to add her own warmth. Shimako sighed in relief and Noriko could feel the body beneath her relax.

"It's warming up these days, but maybe next year," the miko with blue-grey eyes grudgingly acquiesced.

"It's days like today, when it's just cold enough, that you're much more susceptible to getting sick," the black haired girl admonished. "I'll lay out some clean clothes while you take a quick shower to warm up," she chided her charge.

"Yes, mother," Shimako giggled, then turned her head slightly to give Noriko a sultry look, "but only if you promise to join me in the shower."

The black haired girl chuckled. "What about your visitors?"

"They know where to find me if they absolutely need me," Shimako replied with a chuckle of her own, "and have enough patience and manners to let me have at least a few moments of private time."

"I knew there was a reason I liked them," Noriko smiled.

Forty-five minutes later, a much warmer – and sated – Shimako returned to her seat at the kitchen table with another cup of tea in her hands. The smell of ginger wafted through the large room as she sipped the medicinal yet tasty tea. Noriko leaned against the counter and just drank in the image of the girl she loved, having one of those moments when she found it hard to believe just how amazingly lucky she was.

Noriko smiled and opened her mouth to make a comment, but before she could say a word the back door opened and Shimako's father entered with a long, drawn out yawn. Unlike Shimako's garb, her father's robes consisted of a black inner robe, a matching upper robe, and then a patchwork kesa outer robe. Needless to say, his attire was much more appropriate for the still cool temperatures of late March. Noriko glanced from him to his daughter, who was smart enough to understand the slight smirk on her face to be saying: "see, layers are better."

"That smells wonderful, Noriko-chan," he sighed with a somewhat raspy voice. "Do you think it's possible for an old man to get a cup of that ginger tea?"

"I think that can be arranged," the young girl grinned in reply as she turned to set about making up a cup for the man. She used a half teaspoon of powdered ginger root and added a half teaspoon of brown rice malt to help soothe his throat. She placed the teacup in front of his seat along with a plate containing another warmed and buttered croissant.

"Thank you, child," the old monk smiled as he first took a deep whiff of the tea before bringing the cup to his lips. "Aahh, so nice and smooth. My throat feels better already." He then turned to glance up at the young woman's smiling countenance. "Have I told you recently how nice it is to have you here?"

"Not recently, no," Noriko grinned in reply, "but feel free to keep saying it."

"You're just feeding her ego, father," Shimako laughed lightly.

"I but speak the truth," the old man said solemnly, placing his hand over his heart and bowing slightly in his seat toward his daughter's partner. "It's nice to have three people in the house again."

He was, of course, referring to his son and Shimako's older brother/uncle, Masafumi; he of the culinary bent rather than the religious.

It struck Noriko again that Shimako's family history was anything but normal.

-oo-

Shimako's grandparents had had two sons, Norimichi the elder and Masafumi the younger. Norimichi had always been expected to succeed his father in taking over the temple, but while in college the young man had met a girl, Yurina, who was planning on becoming a nun. The two had fallen in love and decided to put their religious lives on hold, but tragically both had succumbed to disease while still young. This left Masafumi, who had never planned on being a priest, in an unenviable position since his dream had always been to become a baker.

So far so good, but…

A few years before Norimichi's death, Shimako's grandmother had died and, during one obviously interesting summer just over twenty-one years earlier, shortly after Norimichi had died, her father had met a delightfully lively and seductive young creature by the name of Sakura. The two had enjoyed a passionate, but brief period together. Early one morning toward the end of that long, beautiful summer, Sakura had simply disappeared, only to return a month later.

The priest had found her digging a hole in the ground at the back of the house. Seeming to understand that whatever his lover was doing was of great seriousness and import, he had gone about collecting stones to surround the area where she was digging. The smile she'd given him was sweeter than all of the kisses they'd shared over the summer.

Once the area had been prepared, Sakura had pulled a single large seed from a pouch she wore on her hip.

"Protect this seed with your life, Priest," the young looking woman had intoned in a solemn voice as she planted the seed into the ground and then lovingly began scraping dirt back into the hole with her own hands, "and raise it, and love it as if it were your own flesh and blood, for in truth, it is." The priest reached across and, also with his own hands, helped to scrape the dirt back into the hole.

"I promise, Sakura," he had nodded, smiling at her. "I will raise and love her as my own child."

"You're perceptive, Priest," Sakura had chuckled. "For in truth, it is a girl child that will eventually be born from this seed."

The priest had never spoken of it, had never questioned her, but he'd known that there was something otherworldly about his lover even before they had made love for the first time. It hadn't mattered to him then. He'd lost his wife not too many years before and had just lost his eldest son. He had needed to reaffirm his connection with the living and Sakura had seemed to understand this. He was comely enough, even at his age, such that she found him more than attractive. He'd also had the warmest heart she'd run across in a long time. What she had wanted from the relationship she had never said, but he had had a feeling that it was this child she had yearned for.

She'd disappeared again shortly after they'd planted the seed, leaving him with a chaste kiss and a tender brushing of his cheek.

Exactly twenty months later, on a balmy May evening, Sakura had returned and, with very little ritual, had withdrawn from the tree a happy and beautiful girl child appearing to be about a year old with dark blonde hair and blue-grey eyes, saying, "the tree has nursed her for the first year of her life, but now she needs be raised in the world of man, to learn and grow in all things worldly. I cannot do this for her, not now, so I entrust her to you, Priest," the kodama had told him.

"Will you not stay and help to raise our child?" he'd asked hopefully, although he already knew the answer.

"Oh, I'll be around. Don't you worry," Sakura had smiled as she handed him the cooing child. "I'll watch over her in my own way, but it is you that will have the daily responsibility for her. She's more human than not, although she has the life of both worlds running through her veins. Even still, it is within the world of man that she must live, not among the kami."

"Will you ever come back?" he'd asked, not quite sure just who it was that he was asking for, the child or himself. Again Sakura had seemed to understand and had once again reached out to tenderly brush his cheek before turning her eyes down to the slowly quieting babe in his arms.

"Maybe someday," she'd told him wistfully, "but more than that I cannot say. The world turns and changes, as must we. Who knows who we will be in ten or twenty years' time? Only Inari knows," the auburn haired woman had paused and then smiled, "and whenever I ask, all he does is smile that damned enigmatic smile at me," she had chuckled. "He really can be a royal pain in the ass sometimes."

With another chaste kiss and a sharing of promises to watch over the child, the two had once again parted ways.

Not wanting to overburden his child, little Shimako had been told that her mother and father, Norimichi and Yurina, had given birth to her shortly before they both died. For this reason Shimako had always wanted to take up her mother's yoke and become a Catholic nun. She'd first stated her intentions to her grandfather when she was just twelve years of age. After discussing it, the two had agreed that she would first spend time in a Catholic school so that she could see more of what the religion was like. That was, of course, before she found Norimichi's death certificate during the first term of her first year of high school at Lillian and did the math.

When she presented the document along with her confused questions to her grandfather, he'd at first tried to say that Yurina had died later, but the look on the young girl's face had kept him from perpetuating the lie. Needless to say, Shimako had been just a bit surprised to find out that her grandfather was, in fact, her father and that her mother was not only still alive, but was of the kami. She hadn't spoken to him for nearly a month when she'd had a surprise visitor.

Shimako had gone out the kitchen door to take an early Saturday morning walk through the woods and once again try to find a way to forgive her "father" for his lies. Imagine her surprise when she found a white fox sitting patiently on its haunches at the base of her now not so little cherry tree. Finding one of Inari's children in her back yard must have been shocking enough. Then the thing had to go and open its mouth!

"It's not his fault, you know," the fox said in determined voice, its smoky blue-grey eyes so reminiscent of her own staring her down. Before she knew it, Shimako was on the ground, her rear end hurting from the fall.

"Wha?" the blonde girl shrieked and she crab walked backwards and away from the white apparition before her.

"Well, maybe it's a _little_ his fault, but you have to admit that you'd never have believed him if he'd told you when you were younger," the fox went on, still not looking away from her, almost demanding that she acknowledge it.

Shimako kept scooting backward.

"Oh, calm down child. Like I'd ever hurt my own flesh and blood," the fox scoffed. Those words forced the blonde to freeze her movements.

"Mo-mo…Mother?" Shimako squeaked.

"Well, who'd you think I was? Inuyasha?" the white fox asked in a haughty voice but with a petulant look on its face.

The comment, and expression, had been so outrageous that Shimako felt a bubble form in her lower abdomen and quickly work its way upward. She was powerless to stop it and, for the first time in nearly a month, the blonde haired girl heartily laughed out loud.

"That's my girl," the fox had grinned.

-oo-

That first, extremely long discussion had turned into more than a month of instruction for both Shimako and her father. Sakura had done her best to teach her of her heritage, the true nature of the kami, and Shimako's place within the two worlds. The lessons had occurred both at the temple as well as at Lillian where Shimako had learned that the sakura tree behind the education building was in fact her mother's and that the kodama had been quietly watching over her all her life. Shock had given way to awe which had slowly but eventually turned into love.

Now, sitting in a large comfortable kitchen on a late March morning, that same priest, his beautiful daughter, and her partner were quietly sharing cups of ginger tea and croissants along with the warm company of family. Noriko couldn't help but agree with him that it was nice having the three of them together in the same place. Only Sakura was missing, but Noriko had a pretty good idea in which dojo she'd be able to find her.

"Your friend is coming back today, isn't she?" Shimako's father asked her. "What time does her plane get in from Rome?"

"Around two," Shimako replied with a wide smile, "but we're letting a…friend of hers pick her up this time."

"Euphemistically speaking," the older man chuckled.

"Yes, euphemistically speaking," Shimako acknowledged with an even wider smile. "Noriko and I figured we'd give the two of them a chance to become reacquainted before we barged back into their lives."

"And Shizuka-sama is going to be pretty busy anyway, getting ready for the start of the school year," Noriko added.

"That's right, she'll be teaching music at Lillian this year, won't she?" the priest hummed.

"In addition to her own music career," Shimako nodded in agreement, truly happy for her dear friend. "She's already found an agent in Tokyo to help her. Someone her Italian agent recommended that's in the same agency. I guess they're an international company."

"You'll have to tell me when her next show or concert is," he grinned. "It's been a long time since I've heard a good Carmen."

Shimako laughed. A sound that never failed to set Noriko's heart to pounding just that little bit harder and faster.

"I'll tell her that," the blonde giggled as she reached across the table for another croissant and the margarine, "but I can't promise Carmen, maybe a little La Traviata or Puccini?"

Noriko couldn't help but smile at the simple domesticity of the scene before her, one in which she felt quite privileged to participate as a central character.

-oo-

The Alitalia flight direct from Rome to Haneda Airport in Tokyo had been long and tedious, but the sound of the jet's engines and the popping of her inner ear were telling her that the plane was at last making its final approach.

Shizuka Kanina, the newest darling of European opera, left the buds in her ears but slipped the small but expensive iPod into the left pocket of her jacket. For the trip she'd chosen to wear a pair of comfortable black, leather fringed Cavalli jeans, a white button down Prada shirt over a dark green t-shirt and a matching dark green D&G blazer. A pair of white cross-trainers with a swoosh design adorned her feet. As soon as the wheels of the plane touched the tarmac the black haired woman was reaching beneath her business class seat for the black Fendi Zucca backpack she'd opted to use for her carry-on.

By the time the plane had taxied to the gate, unloaded its passengers, and the dark brown-eyed diva had cleared customs, all she wanted to do was grab her one suitcase and retire to the little cottage she'd once again rented from Katou Kei. So intent was she on reaching that goal that she walked right past the brown haired woman that had been rushing to take her into her arms.

"Shi-Shizuka-san?" a confused and slightly hurt Sadako Inoue called out softly to the woman quickly moving away from her.

Opera's darling, Lillian's former Rosa Canina, and the newest mega-star to return to Japan from a successful tour of Europe's most famous stages, slowed her steps as she heard that voice tentatively call her name. A small touch of guilt accompanied her gentle sigh as she turned back to find the woman she'd last seen on New Year's day nearly a full three months earlier.

"Sadako-chan," she whispered and shook her head briefly before turning back with a wide smile, dropping her bag and opening her arms with a warm greeting. "Where were you? I was looking for you."

The pained look in the nurse's hazel eyes fled beneath the brightness of that smile as she rushed into the arms of the woman she loved with a wide grin.

"Shizuka, I missed you so much," Sadako whispered into her ear.

"I missed you too, sweetie," Shizuka replied with a soft sigh, "but I'm dead on my feet. Could you please just drive me to the cottage? I've just got to get out of these clothes, take a shower and then a nap."

"What about your luggage?"

"I had everything shipped, so it should already be there. All I've got is this one bag."

"Okay, then let's get you home so we can get you out of those clothes," the former player smirked and gave her long-absent lover's designer clad body a careful once over.

Shizuka sighed again before chuckling. "Once I've recovered, dear," she leaned over and gently kissed first the left and then the right cheek of the only slightly chagrined woman, "then we can see about…other things," she laughed. The disappointment on the older woman's face was there and gone in an instant as she realized how drained her love must be from the thirteen and a half hour flight.

"If you'd rather wait by the curb than walk, I'll go and bring the car up for you," Sadako offered solicitously.

"Oh, no, I wouldn't want to put you out…"

"It's no problem at all," Inoue-sensei smiled as the two exited the terminal. "You rest here and I'll be back in just a few minutes." Without another thought and a departing smile, Sadako raced off to get the car as Shizuka gingerly set her suitcase down and then used it as a seat to take the weight off her legs and ankles.

As soon as she was situated she checked her Rolex and gave out another soft sigh. Reaching into the breast pocket of her jacket she pulled out a pair of Dior sunglasses and settled in to wait.

-oo-

Shizuka was as good as her word. Almost before Sadako's small runabout had come to a stop on the gravel driveway of the rented cottage, the songstress was out of her seat and moving toward the main house to procure the key from Kei-san. Sadako got the suitcase from the trunk and picked up her lover's backpack from the foot of the passenger's seat where she'd left it and had everything waiting for her at the front door when the black haired beauty returned to let them in.

"Just put the backpack on the kitchen counter and the suitcase in the bedroom," Shizuka called out as she immediately headed toward the bedroom.

Even though Sadako was only a minute behind her, her love was out of her clothes and wrapped in a silk robe, ready for her shower by the time she brought the suitcase into the room. A long black evening gown studded with Swarovski crystal, pulled from the open closet where the clothes she'd shipped ahead of her trip had already been hung, lay across the bed.

"Sayako-sama wants me to attend a dinner party tonight that the Academy is throwing to announce my arrival," Shizuka proclaimed as she left the room to turn toward the bathroom at the end of the hall. "I only have a few hours to take a nap before I have to get ready to go," she threw over her shoulder.

"When will you be back?" the nurse asked.

"Not until well after midnight," Shizuka called from the bathroom as she started the shower running, leaving the door open half way, "by which time I'll be ready to finally get a long night's sleep."

"Then…I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" Sadako asked from the bedroom door as she watched the woman she loved slip out of her robe and step into the shower, her stupendous body immediately glistening with beads of hot water. The image was seared into her brain.

"I'll give you a call, love," Shizuka called above the splash of the water, not bothering to turn and look as she dipped her head to soak her hair.

"All right. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Get a good night's sleep," the brown haired woman smiled before turning and heading toward the door.

Shizuka didn't reply.

Sadako let herself out, closing the door firmly behind her. She stopped for a moment on the small cement porch.

"Welcome back, Shizuka-sama," she smiled sadly, then walked slowly to her car to drive herself home. "And I didn't even get a tip."


	27. Chapter 27

The school year in Japan was over and the preparations for the next school year were under way. This year those preparations included a brand new, yet highly anticipated voice and music instructor for both Lillian Girls' Academy as well as its male counterpart, Hanadera.

The fete Shizuka had attended the evening of her return from Rome had included such luminaries as the Managing Directors of the New National Theatre Tokyo and the Tokyo Opera City Concert and Recital Halls, the head of the Tokyu Group which operated the Bunkamura in Shibuya, the current director of the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra including three of their resident conductors, as well as several prominent music reporters.

Ogasawara Sayako-sama, the Lillian Academy Director and therefore the holder of the highest position at the school, even above the individual school's principals and on a par with the head of the Board of Governors, all of whom had also been in attendance, had been as good as her word and then some.

When Sayako had casually mentioned to the Director of Hanadera that she had been able to retain the renowned Kanina Shizuka as a music teacher for the high school division, the man had fallen all over himself to try to get her to see if the opera sensation would be willing to accommodate the boys' needs as well. She'd informed him that she'd have to speak with "Shizuka-chan" and that it was ultimately the diva's decision, but that she personally wouldn't have any problems with sharing her.

The Hanadera Director had been only one of the many guests the Ogasawara matriarch had introduced Shizuka to that evening. The end result of that one meeting was that Shizuka would be teaching four highly sought after, and just as highly selective, Advanced Choir and Voice classes, two at each school. She had also promised Sayako-sama that she would be open to privately tutoring no more than half a dozen of the very best singers that Lillian had to offer, potentially including students from the middle-school division as well as from the high school.

What she hadn't yet broached to the Lillian Director was her idea to build a combined choir from both schools' student bodies. While she already knew that the Lillian and Hanadera choirs normally achieved great honors on their own, she'd always imagined what a combined chorus from both schools - with true sopranos, altos, contraltos, counter tenors, tenors, and basses – would be like. And if she could find a really excellent treble within the Hanadera classrooms…she drooled at the thought.

Her agent, who had also been at the party, had picked up no fewer than six offers for future meetings. Back less than a day and Shizuka-sama had already started on her conquering of Japan's music world. The title "Rosa Canina" was on more lips than not the entire evening. Praises and compliments flowed faster than the champagne.

And she'd soaked up every drop of it.

Of course it wasn't all parties and play. The black haired songstress also had to prepare her lesson plans, develop and negotiate acceptable song lists and potential concert schedules with the principals, attend faculty meetings, meet with Sayako-sama, and attend various school functions in order to promote the schools. On top of that there were lunches and meetings with her agent and those that wanted to rent her talents for a long or short period of time.

All of which left very little time for her to catch up and spend time with a very disappointed Shinto Priestess. Once again, technology came to the rescue in the form of Shizuka and Shimako continuing to meet over the web via Skype as they had done while the opera singer was still in Rome.

"You can't imagine how much I appreciated our chats, Shimako-san," Shizuka smiled at her webcam. "I swear, they're the only things that kept me sane at times. You were always able to bring me peace and ground me, and I can never thank you enough for that. Especially these last few months."

"That's what friends are for," Shimako smiled in reply. "You would have, and have, done the same for me," she paused just a moment and bit her lower lip before continuing.

"Which reminds me," she said a bit more softly, a touch of both shyness and worry entering her voice, "you've been so good to me, and I care for you so much…there's something we want to talk to you about. When do you think you might have a chance to come out to visit us at the shrine?"

"I assume it isn't something you want to spread across the World Wide Web," Shizuka replied lightly even though she knew that whatever it was that Shimako wanted to tell her was of much more importance than she was letting on given her little tells. "Is this Sunday too late? I have a tutoring session on Saturday morning, and then a meeting with Sayako-sama that afternoon, but Sunday should be open."

"Sunday is fine," Shimako smiled broadly, happy that she'd get to see her dear friend soon. "We'll be waiting for you. I…I want you to meet someone as well."

"Oh?"

"Yes. I'd…I'd like you to meet my mother," Shimako grinned.

"But I thought…oh, never mind," Shizuka said with a shake of her head and a smile. "I'd be delighted to meet your mother and see your father again. I assume he'll be there? And Noriko-chan as well? Is around noon all right?"

"Yes. The whole family," the dark blonde haired Angel of Lillian smiled, "and noon will be fine. We can have a picnic under the sakura tree. It's probably appropriate," she laughed softly.

"I'll see you then," Shizuka returned the smile and then, after just a little more small talk, signed off.

-oo-

"Are you sure about this Shimako?" Noriko asked with a slightly worried look at her lover from where she sat on a sofa off-camera. "I mean, saying that it's going to come as a surprise to her is an understatement. How many people can claim that they've met a kodama and her half-human daughter?"

"Hmm, I'd say three or four years' worth of Lillian students, but so few of them know the truth that it's not worth mentioning. Other than that? Only our friends and sisters. Still," she sighed, "I don't like keeping this secret from Shizuka-sama. She's an important friend to me."

"I know," Noriko smiled at her, dropping the text book she'd been reading to the table and getting up to walk over and put her arms around her lover's shoulders. Shimako laid her head on one of her arms. "I'm just worried about how she'll react when she learns…not worried about her, but about you. If she doesn't take it well you're going to feel devastated. Even if she does take it well she may need some time to really come to grips with it. You're going to have to give her that time without making her feel like she's hurting you by not immediately jumping into your arms with acceptance."

"I know," Shimako sighed, "and you're right. All our friends took the truth much better than I ever expected they would, but even some of them had to take some time to assimilate it. I just don't feel right keeping something like this from her."

Noriko smiled and leaned over to place a soft kiss on Shimako's forehead. "I'm just being a worrywart. Knowing her, she'll probably accept your revelation without a moment's thought."

"I hope you're right," the blonde smiled, unable to stay worried for too long with her black haired love beside her.

"I know I am," Noriko hugged her tightly for a moment, feeling the other girl almost melt into her arms. Still, she crossed her fingers and sent a silent prayer up to whoever would listen that her love not be hurt.

-oo-

Sadako watched from her position off camera as Shizuka shut down the computer after saying her goodbyes to Shimako-chan. The brief frown that she allowed herself to show was as a result of her "girlfriend" making plans for this Sunday without a thought for her. With all of the work, meetings, and parties Shizuka had to attend since her return, the Lillian nurse had found very few opportunities for the two to meet and had desperately hoped that the two of them would be able to spend the day together to renew their relationship. That hope was now obviously down the drain. Still, she knew how important Shimako-chan was to her, so she couldn't really begrudge her a visit.

She insulted her drink by downing the remainder of a little more than a finger's worth of single malt whisky in a gulp before setting the crystal tumbler down on the end table next to her chair. The booze and six-bottle wine rack set up neatly on one corner of the kitchen counter was another new addition to the rented cottage. When they had last met, Shizuka had never had more than a single glass of wine with dinner and had never had any hard alcohol. Now Sadako noted that almost all of the bottles of high end hooch had been opened and she'd personally killed the last of a bottle of whiskey (a twelve year old Suntory Hakushu that she knew retailed for around ¥7400).

The brown haired Sadako had come over to the cottage at her girlfriend's dinner invitation only to then turn around and drive the two of them to a relatively fancy restaurant. The maître de had given her attire of jeans and Lillian polo shirt a grimace but luckily hadn't told them to leave, probably because of the Dolce&Gabbana jacket Shizuka had loaned her. Then, at the end of the meal, during which Shizuka told her all about everything that had happened and what her plans were, Shizuka got up to go to the restroom saying that she'd meet her at the door. Of course, that meant that Sadako had to take care of the bill.

Love wasn't just a pain, it was also damned expensive!

Now, as the black haired woman stretched her long arms over her head and gave out a soft but obvious yawn, Sadako rolled her eyes and then got up to rinse her glass in the sink. She'd at least hoped to be invited to spend the night so that the two of them could talk, but it didn't seem that it was in the cards tonight either. In the two weeks since her return, Sadako could count the number of times that the two had spent more than an hour in each other's company on a single hand. And as for making love?

A small, tired grin touched her lips as she thought those thoughts. "Made love" was a gross exaggeration. They'd had sex only on one occasion and then Shizuka, once she'd been satisfied, had claimed exhaustion and promptly rolled over to sleep.

Sadako shook her head, wondering where in the world her loving Shizu-chan had gone.

-oo-

The rest of the week flew by as Shizuka attended one meeting after another, two of which solidified dates for future concerts and a third that ended up with her acting as the understudy to a local actress in the role of Anna in Boieldieu's comic opera _La Dame Blanche_. Saturday's tutoring lesson went well (although the young girl seemed to spend half the time gushing her adoration), as did the meeting with Sayako-sama in preparation of school starting up the following week.

In preparation for her picnic with Shimako, she'd once again put off Sadako who had called to see if she wanted to go out to dinner and then see a movie. Shizuka had claimed fatigue but promised that they might be able to get together the following weekend. She'd heard the slight pause before Sadako quietly agreed, but didn't think much of it at the time.

The next day found Shimako, her father, Noriko, and Shizuka sitting together beneath a flowering cherry tree out at the Shoguji Temple and Shrine. Shimako and Noriko had spread a large blanket on the ground and anchored it with rocks at the corners before helping the priest bring out the food with Shizuka's additional assistance. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon for the first week of April. The weather was mild and only a few puffy clouds dotted the light blue sky.

Shizuka had arrived a bit early and had been treated to a tour of both the temple as well as Shimako's own shrine to Amaterasu and its performance area. The blush that arose in the blonde's cheeks as Shizuka complimented her was enough to make the former Rosa Gigantea look more like a little girl than a high priestess.

"It's beautiful!" Shizuka had praised her dear friend. "I don't know all of the meanings for everything being Catholic myself, even after watching some of your webcasts, but the peace and serenity I feel just walking down the path, smelling the combination of cedar and walnuts as I walk along through the woods, only a fool would be unable to feel how hallowed the ground is. You have truly created a sacred place beyond anything I could have ever imagined."

"I'm so glad you like it," Shimako said and ducked her head beneath the praise. "When my mother made me realize that becoming a nun was simply my wanting to run away from myself and my heritage, and that I could still honor the gods, _all gods_, in the way that they should be honored, it all became so clear to me. I've never been happier," she'd looked over to the smaller black haired girl walking beside her and holding her hand. Noriko returned the look, the love apparent in her eyes. "I can be myself, honor the gods, follow my heritage, and have the person I love at my side…who could ever want anything more."

"You make me so jealous," Shizuka had chuckled.

"What about Sadako-sensei?" Noriko had asked with a wry grin.

Shizuka's face had clouded over just a moment before her smile returned. "I'm really not sure how it's going right now. I've been so busy the two of us really haven't had much time to be together since I returned."

"That's no good," Shimako had chided her friend softly, bringing just a touch of guilt to Shizuka's eyes. "Busy or not, you need to make time for each other."

"Maybe," Shizuka replied softly.

"Shizuka-sama," Shimako said, stopping and forcing the taller, black haired girl to turn and look at her, "I've seen how Sadako-sensei looks at you. Believe me when I tell you that she truly loves you."

"I know she does," the brown-eyed diva sighed. "At least…well, like I said, I've been very busy with preparing for school and trying to book shows so that I don't fade from everyone's thoughts. I haven't really had the time I needed to spend with her and…" she shook her head, unable, or not wanting, to voice her true thoughts.

Shimako seemed to see the thoughts flashing through her mind anyway. Shizuka could see that the younger girl was doing everything she could to hold herself back from saying something. Seeing that reticence to speak, especially from someone like Shimako, only deepened the guilt playing havoc with her emotions.

After the tour and setting up the picnic, the four finally sat down to enjoy their meal although one place setting yet remained conspicuously empty.

"Is your mother going to be joining us?" Shizuka asked conversationally. She still didn't really understand the situation. She'd thought that Shimako's mother had died long ago, but now it seemed that that had been somewhat of a misunderstanding. When Shimako had told her that her mother had 'moved on' she'd simply assumed that she'd died.

"She should be joining us shortly," Shimako replied with a smile that tried to hide her disappointment. "At least she promised that she would…"

Shizuka watched Noriko place a tender hand on Shimako's leg while her father simply smiled as if he knew something that the others didn't.

At which point a white fox bounded from the woods, took a small leap and landed squarely in Shizuka's lap.

"Whaaa!" Shizuka screamed, afraid to move even as her paper plate of food went flying.

"MOTHER!" Shimako screeched in shock.

The fox turned to look up at the surprised and wide-eyed Shizuka, grinned lopsidedly, and then very distinctly, and in a very human voice, said, "Oops. My bad."

-oo-

Noriko had a devil of a time to keep from laughing her head off as first Shimako screeched in shock and then Shizuka-sama followed suit. And when Sakura, in her fox shape, actually spoke to Shizuka-sama, and the older girl's jaw just about hit the ground and her eyes looked like saucers, it had taken every ounce of her strength not to let out a loud guffaw.

Sakura-sama certainly knew how to make an entrance!

But the wild, frightened look in Shizuka-sama's eyes worried her more. The woman hadn't outright fainted, but it had probably been a close thing. It appeared that Shimako was also aware of the situation because she immediately berated her mother for her outlandish actions, and then started apologizing to the black haired Shizuka profusely.

"Oh stop, Shi-chi," Sakura admonished her daughter. "Believe me when I say, after two hundred and some years of experience, that when trying to get someone to believe something it's always best to show them rather than talk. Words can be disbelieved, but the eyes are very hard to deceive." So saying, the white fox jumped down off of the still stunned Shizuka's lap and ambled toward the base of the tree that was her namesake.

"You remember, Priest," she chuckled as she started to walk behind the tree, "this is the way I showed you that one day after Shi-chan was born." As she passed behind the tree, just as her tail was disappearing behind the bole, a beautiful young woman with long, wavy auburn hair dressed in the uniform of a Lillian student was emerging from the other side. "It's a bit easier on the eyes this way as well," she continued. "Watching the change can be a bit…disconcerting."

Whether it was disconcerting or not, Shizuka-sama's eyes grew even wider, if such was possible, as she watched this extraordinary metamorphosis taking place. Noriko noticed that her hands were shaking, but that was the only part of her body moving. The rest of the older girl seemed to be frozen in her shock.

Not a good sign.

"Please, just sit down, Sakura-sama," Noriko said softly, knowing that the kodama could still hear her.

Sakura turned to look at their guest and recognized the signs immediately. She quickly took a seat, giving Shimako a quick kiss on the cheek before doing so.

"It's really not all that interesting," she shrugged. "I may be a little older than most, but you seem to spend half your time just tuning everything out other than what's happening immediately around you. I couldn't tell you who the last Prime Minister was, or any of the Diet members, or whoever the heck this guy 'Harry Potter' is that everyone keeps talking about. But I can sing you some of the most beautiful songs that have never made it onto the radio. Of course, they're mostly simple, local tunes from the back country, but they're no less beautiful for that."

The mention of songs, of music, seemed to loosen the strained muscles in Shizuka's body and Noriko could see her relaxing as her eyes seem to light up with something other than fear.

"Songs?" Shizuka asked softly.

Instead of answering, Sakura opened her mouth and a soft but mesmerizing little tune came out in her smooth alto voice. Before she could help herself, Shizuka was entranced. This time, when her eyes widened, it is in amazement and she was holding her breath.

"Th-that was beautiful," the black haired songstress whispered as Sakura's song finally came to an end. "I've never heard it before."

"I learned it from a goze when I was visiting Hino village near the end of the Edo period," Sakura smiled. "Unlike most goze, she was traveling alone rather than in a group. Still, even though blind, she could match swords with most of the best swordsmen of the day."

"Like Zatoichi?" Noriko asked in surprise. "I thought that Zatoichi was a fictional character…and male."

Sakura chuckled. "Nori-chi, you should know by now that most stories have some basis in fact. If I remember correctly she said her name was Ichimura Kaede and, yes, she kept her sword hidden in the handle of her shamisen. We traveled a little bit together and I was able to learn most of her repertoire. She sang some of the most beautiful songs," she sighed wistfully.

"Could…could you sing some more?" Shizuka asked in a fairly decent impression of a six year old.

"Sure," the old kodama smiled.

It was the most impressive example of manipulation that Noriko had ever seen. The frightened – face it, she was scared witless – Shizuka slowly transformed into an avid and somewhat awestruck fan. Whether it was the soft voice, the singing, the minimal movements, the utterly open face, or some combination of all of the above, Sakura had slowly tamed the terrified young woman just as you would a frightened animal or distrustful child.

What Noriko had been sorely afraid of, that Shizuka would either run screaming from their midst, or possibly even worse, completely break off communications with Shimako, was instead turned into at least a passive acceptance. She sighed a soft breath of relief as she continued to watch the old kodama sooth and tame the timid diva.

["Two hundred plus years of experience, Nori-chi,"] she heard Sakura whisper in her ear – or was it directly in her thoughts? She couldn't decide, nor did it really matter. The small smile she saw tickle Sakura's lips seemed much more like a smirk at that moment and she couldn't help smile as well.

-oo-

Sadako Inoue, nurse for all three divisions of Lillian Girls' Academy, put the bottle of morphine into the safe hidden at the back of her medicine cabinet, shut the door, locked it, and then slid the false panel back into place. Neither technically nor legally was she actually authorized to dispense such a heavy pain reliever, but she'd learned over the years that the medical profession would often turn a blind eye to some small circumvention of the rules if it was in the best interests of the patient. Still, she was always very careful to keep such contraband hidden away where it couldn't be discovered, but where it was accessible to her if it was needed.

It was her predecessor that had told her about the safe and given her the combination before she retired. Even that old nurse had no idea how old the safe actually was since she'd learned about it from her predecessor, who had learned about it from the woman before her. It was probably as old as the school itself.

Sadako smiled as she thought about how, despite its illegality, she was actually upholding a longstanding Lillian tradition by keeping the stock of drugs properly maintained.

Turning from the cabinet after locking its glass doors, she glanced out the window to watch as students passed by her little building on their way to their first home room classes of the new school term. Dark green pleated uniforms, the skirts lengths ranging from ankle length to just below the knee – depending upon how far the student thought they could push the school's dress code without getting admonished by one of the staff or an onee-sama – moved only modestly and gracefully as the girls walked the cobblestoned paths of the wonderfully maintained grounds.

A gaggle of young women, mostly second and third years from what she could tell, were gathered together animatedly around a taller young woman with longish black hair dressed in a smart pants suit of dark grey that probably cost more than two months-worth of Sadako's salary. A sad smile touched her lips before she turned away from the scene to double check her inventory of tongue depressors and cotton swabs.

She'd received three calls the previous evening from the woman smiling in the middle of all those girls, none of which she'd answered before she turned her phone off for the night, crawled into her cold bed, and cried herself to sleep.


	28. Chapter 28

_Sadako knew it was a dream because it had been many years since she'd been a student inside those pale yellow corridors, doors flanking either side and only occasionally interspersed with wide windows. Even though she knew it was a dream she could imagine her physical body cringing, knowing what was to come._

_Running through the halls was against the rules, she knew that, but she'd never been one to be overly conscious or caring of someone else's ideas of what was correct behavior and what wasn't. The big things were, of course, simple common sense, but the little things like running in the hall, or wearing your school's dark green uniform in a strictly specified manner, or not showing any individuality by coloring your hair or painting your nails – those tyrannically imposed beliefs she could care less about._

_So she ran as quickly as she could, dodging the few remaining students still lingering or walking slowly through the school's hallways after the end of classes. Rounding a corner she nearly ran down a teacher, so she ducked her head quickly and allowed her long hair to cover her face as she bounced left and then continued running, leaving a shouting instructor behind her, just one more faceless student. She smiled when the teacher didn't call out her name, knowing that she hadn't been recognized._

_The room cleaning duty had taken far longer than normal and she was late for her rendezvous. Dropping down a set of stairs - taking the treads three and four at a time and not caring that the hem of her far too short for regulation pleated skirt was flapping around the tops of her thighs and giving anyone that might be looking a free show - she continued her speedy movements out one set of doors and across the perfectly manicured grass of the campus until the wide double doors of the gymnasium came into sight. Slowing, she began taking deep breaths so that she wouldn't seem winded when she finally arrived. She _did_ have a reputation to maintain at this school of maidens, even if it wasn't one that her parents would be overly proud of._

_Sadako was a player, or so everyone said, and she'd be hard-pressed to deny it. She'd had many girlfriends in her five plus years of middle and high school. None of those relationships had been serious, but neither had it been painful for either girl when it eventually ended. All of her former lovers had gone away happy knowing that, for at least a few weeks, they'd been the center of Sadako Inoue's universe. But those days were now over._

_Now there was Rin._

_The bleached blonde second-year student had transferred into Lillian in the middle of Sadako's senior year and had quickly developed her own reputation as a player with only one important distinction; Rin was bi where Sadako was a dyed-in-the-wool lesbian and everyone knew it. Rin played the field regardless of gender. Students from Hanadera were just as fair game for her as those from Lillian. Therefore it was no surprise to anyone when she and Sadako had eventually hooked up._

_What _was_ surprising, at least for the brown haired teen, was that for the very first time since she'd started dating, Sadako was actually in _love_. She and Rin were so similar in so many ways, and yet different enough that finding out those differences became just another wondrous part of their blossoming relationship. Every time she saw the slightly taller girl she'd find her heart beating just that little much faster, just that little much harder. Her breath hitched at the other girl's beauty and she could feel the heat growing in her loins from just watching Rin move._

_One week became two. Two weeks became two months and then three. Never before had Sadako been together with one girl for so long. Yet never before had she been so much in love either. Every morning she awoke smiling, knowing that it was the start of another day of Rin and her together and every evening she went to bed smiling, knowing that she'd be having wonderful dreams of her love._

_Taking one last deep breath and pushing a hand through her hair, Sadako grasped the handle on the right hand door and pulled it open. Before she could step through the entry, the last girl on cleaning duty rushed past her out the door, her face flushed and perspiration beading her forehead. A giggle escaped the girl's lips as she ran past while quickly arranging her uniform even though the zipper in the back was still down half-way._

_Eyes wide with surprise, Sadako turned away from the younger girl to see Rin coming out of the equipment room looking just as disheveled and flushed as the other girl and just as covered in perspiration. The brown haired senior also noted the self-satisfied smirk on her girlfriend's lips. _

_No one had ever offered that Sadako was lacking in intelligence. With just one look she knew exactly what had happened. It was at that moment that Sadako's heart began breaking._

_Sadako accused._

_Rin smilingly admitted._

_Rin said she never promised to be monogamous._

_Sadako desperately professed her love._

_Rin laughed and walked past her._

_Sadako's heart shattered in to millions of tiny pieces._

With a gasp, Sadako Inoue awoke to her still dark bedroom. The gasp turned into a sob and tears streamed unabated down her cheeks.

It had been years since she'd been awakened by that particular nightmare. She'd had it frequently during her first and second term at Lillian U., but it had eventually been replaced by analytic geometry formulas and diagrams of the body's vascular system.

As her tears slowed and she got her breathing back under control, Sadako realized that it didn't take a rocket scientist to understand why the dream had come back at this particular time in her life. Once again she had opened her heart to another only to have it broken. And this time her competition wasn't as simple as another girl. Instead it was something much more insidious. It was fame and everything that the love of the populace brought with it. Money, designer clothes, parties, immediate entry into the pinnacle of high society.

Things Sadako had no chance of competing with, let alone beating.

Glancing at her alarm clock she realized that it was nearly five, so instead of trying to get back to sleep the nurse crawled out of her bed and dragged herself to her shower. It was time to prepare for another day.

With the harsh sting of hot water beating against her face, just as she had during her first year of college, Sadako Inoue decided to throw herself into her work and once again swear off dating. Never again would she offer her heart up in sacrifice only to feel the dagger of betrayal.

Some words of wisdom she'd received from her father when she was young came back to her.

_"The first time someone calls you an ass, laugh it off. The second time someone calls you an ass, hit them in the nose. The third time someone calls you an ass...buy a saddle."_

She hadn't understood what he meant back then, but those words had much more meaning for her today.

"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me thrice? Not gonna happen," she muttered as steam filled the small cubicle and beads of water mixed with and hid the salty drops dripping down her face.

-oo-

Shizuka signed off the Skype call and angrily shut her computer down for the evening.

Noriko-chan had spent the entire call sitting in Shimako's lap with her arms around the blonde's neck or shoulders. The smiles on the two girls' faces and the way they kept touching each other without any conscious thought showed just how much the two loved each other.

The woman once again being called Rosa Canina had had a hard time hiding the jealousy that had been raging through her during the call. It was as if they were flaunting their relationship, their love, in her face. It had taken all of her acting skill not to allow those dangerous emotions to show.

After signing off she sat back in her chair and took a deep breath, letting out a big sigh and trying to push her overwrought emotions out with her breath. She was only partially successful so she took in a second deep breath, held it, and then let it out slowly until she felt calm once more.

"Why?" Shizuka sighed again. "Normally Noriko-chan sits off to the side, only adding to the conversation every once in a while, but tonight she sat in Shimako-san's lap. And the constant hugging! I almost expected them to kiss."

The black haired singer shook her head in confusion. Shimako usually didn't go in for public displays of affection, but tonight she seemed to relish in showing Shizuka just how intimate, how close, and how attuned she and her lover were with each other.

If it had been their intent to show the older girl just what she was missing then they'd certainly accomplished their goal.

Looking up from the laptop Shizuka noted the coldness and emptiness of her small cottage. That emptiness had nothing to do with lack furniture, or furnishings, or belongings. Those things she had. Instead it was an emptiness that was an echo of her heart and her soul.

Looking toward the sofa she saw the image of an older woman with long dark brown hair and smiling hazel eyes. Eyes that had once looked at her with the same kind of love that Shimako's eyes showed for Noriko-chan.

Just before the image faded away she saw the sparkle in those eyes die along with the smile on those perfect pink lips. The lips she'd so loved to kiss. It was that last image that remained in her mind, because it was the same expression she'd seen on Sadako's face just before the last time the woman had left the cottage to go to her own home.

And it had been Shizuka that had sent her on her way with a stretch and a fake yawn of exhaustion.

She hadn't really been all that tired, she'd just wanted to get back to reading the latest articles that had been printed about her in the various entertainment magazines and papers. Ever since the industry had gotten wind of her extraordinary skyrocketing to fame in Europe there had been articles regarding the success of the local girl. Those articles had only been growing in number since her return and the start of her performances. Each and every one had been a glowing review of her talents. Even her own agent had nothing but wonderful things to say about her.

The only one that had been mute on the subject had been Sadako except to congratulate her, and even then the words had seemed almost to have been forced. When had they fallen so far apart?

Shizuka thought back to the day of her arrival at the airport…and cringed when she considered how she'd treated the woman she was supposed to be in love with like nothing more than a chauffeur. She hadn't even remembered that Sadako was going to be picking her up. Instead she'd been focused on the party later that evening and her meeting the next day with her agent.

"Did I even kiss her? Or thank her?" she wondered aloud, unable to remember even that much.

-oo-

Sadako opened her office window so that the lovely strains of _Ave Maria_ could waft through to her from the similarly open windows of the second floor music room in the nearby education building. Closing her eyes, she allowed the voice of the woman she still loved, despite everything that had or hadn't happened or how hard she strove otherwise, to envelope her.

It had been more than two weeks since she'd last spoken to the black haired diva that had taken her to the heights of ecstasy as well as made her feel warm, wanted, and loved. It was also the voice of the same woman that had dropped her into the depths and left her there to rot.

After that one evening - the evening after her picnic with Shimako-san and her family - Shizuka had tried five more times to call her, and each time Sadako had allowed it to go to voicemail which she promptly deleted without bothering to listen to the message. Sadako just couldn't bring herself to listen to whatever trite and hollow excuses the younger woman might try to foist upon her.

She _had_ spoken to Shimako-chan and Sakura-sama, with both women voicing their concern for what appeared to be the imminent destruction of her and Shizuka's relationship, but all she'd done was to smile and thank them for their concern. It wasn't her place to try to mend the split that had grown between the two former lovers. She'd already decided to move on.

"I won't be someone's lackey or 'sometimes lover'," she'd told the pair that had found her one day sitting on a bench behind the administration building. She'd been trying to enjoy the warmer weather, but even the heat of the sun hadn't been able to thaw the chill in her heart.

"Since she came back I've been a taxi driver, a convenient - and paying - dinner companion, a multi-function vibrator, and an unwilling ear for everything from how wonderful the local theatres are and her plans for taking Japan by storm, to how catty some of the other performers she's had to deal with could be. Not once did she say a word about us or even ask how my day went."

The hazel-eyed nurse had sighed in resignation even as the other two women's eyes seemed to blaze with fury. "Maybe one of these days she'll realize that there's more to life than work and her own glory, but I'm not going wait around for it. I'm not a toy to be taken out and used, only to be put back in the box until the next time she needs something."

"We'll talk to her," Shimako had started to offer, but both Sadako and Sakura had shaken their heads.

Sadako smiled up at the auburn haired kodama, knowing that the two were thinking the same thing.

"Shizuka needs to decide for herself what it is that she wants…what's most important to her. No one can decide that for her," the nurse sighed as Sakura nodded her head.

"It's frustrating, but true," the woman with the same eyes as her daughter agreed. "Still, we'll be there, for both of you, if you need us," she went on, placing a gentle hand on Sadako's shoulder.

"Thank you," Sadako smiled sadly, reaching up to squeeze the hand on her shoulder.

That discussion had occurred a little less than a week ago, and still there'd been no communication between the two, not that she'd even tried. Her cell phone had rung not less than seven times in just the past few days. The nurse didn't dare turn it off during work hours, but as soon as the last student had left for the day she'd thumbed the damned device off. She didn't know what might have stirred Shizuka to renew her efforts, nor did she care. She was done.

"I need to stop tormenting myself," she mumbled as she closed the window to her office and the sound of that angelic voice faded away.

Yet despite all her resolve, despite everything she tried to tell herself, she knew that she wouldn't be able to follow that sound advice. Shizuka had a concert later that evening to which the nurse already had a ticket tucked into her purse along with a single red rose. She'd have to pay one of the staff to deliver it for her during the concert, but she didn't dare deliver it herself.

"Who am I kidding," she chuckled sadly.

Turning to her desk, she heard the outer door to the infirmary slide open and her name being called by a student's voice.

"Time to go back to work," she said, forcing a smile onto her face as she moved toward the outer room where her newest patient awaited her.

-oo-

"_You've reached the voicemail for Inoue Sadako. I'm not available to answer your call right now. If this is an actual emergency, please hang up and dial 110. For all other calls, please leave your name…"_

Shizuka sighed and hit the end button, not bothering to leave another voicemail. She'd already left more than two dozen over the six week period that she hadn't been able to get through to the Lillian nurse. Not one of those messages had been returned.

She'd also stopped by the infirmary every day that she gave classes for the past three weeks, but had found only an empty examination room and a locked door to Sadako's office. It had become painfully obvious that the woman was avoiding her.

Not that she blamed her one bit. Even Sei-san had told her how much of an ass she'd been along with just how much she deserved a kick in that same posterior.

"You need to prostrate yourself in front of her and beg for forgiveness, and even then I'm not sure you deserve it," the artist had admonished her.

"I know Sei-san," Shizuka had sighed. "I know I treated Sadako horribly. Even before I returned from Rome all I would ever talk about was what operas I was performing in or concerts I was giving, or what the latest reviews of those performances had said. Rarely did I ever ask what she had been doing. I asked if she missed me, but never said the same back. I was…"

"A royal ass," Sei finished for her and all she could do was agree.

"But she won't even answer or return my calls and she seems to be hiding from me whenever I try to find her."

"So, are you going to give up on her?" Sei had asked with her usual bluntness.

"I don't want to, but I don't know what I can do," Shizuka sighed.

"Didn't you say that you think she's still attending your performances?"

A small smile etched the singer's lips. "After each performance there's a single red rose, just like she gave me on Christmas Eve in Paris. It has to be Sadako."

"Then can't you do something there? At the performance?"

"My director would have a fit if I strayed from the script," Shizuka laughed quietly.

"So?" and she could hear the smirk in Sei's voice. "What's more important to you? One director's wrath, or the woman you're supposed to love?"

"I guess that's what everyone seems to be asking me," the black haired songstress chuckled weakly, "and for too long I kept giving the wrong answer. But what good is fame if you have no one to share it with? Where's the joy in being happy if you're alone?"

"Sounds like you're finally thinking again," the blonde chuckled on her end of the phone. "Luckily I've got Youko to remind me, and if she doesn't than Yumi-chan or Sachiko-chan are quite happy to do it for her."

"Tell me about it," Shizuka laughed. "I was walking across the Lillian campus one day when Yumi passed me. She didn't say a word, but she gave me this angry glare and then smacked me in the shoulder as she walked past. I didn't have to ask what it was for," she sighed.

"Yeah, she can be the sweetest girl you'd ever want to meet, and she'll bend over backwards to help out a friend, but if you get on her bad side, watch out!" Sei laughed.

"I know. I had a bruise for three days," Shizuka whined. "Who knew she'd be that strong."

"She's still going to the gym and doing weights every week for her therapy," Sei offered, her voice softening a bit at the memories of how they'd nearly lost that wondrous girl.

"I was in Italy when she got sick, but Shimako kept me up to date almost every week with the progress of Yumi-chan's illness. I don't think I've ever prayed that much before."

"You and me, both," Sei whispered. "I think Sachiko would have died if she'd lost Yumi."

The two were quiet for a few moments before Shizuka replied, the tears evident in her voice.

"I think I now know how she would have felt. I've been such a fool."

"Then stop being a fool and go get her," Sei said forcefully. "If you love her, really love her, you'll do whatever it takes to get her back."

-oo-

It wasn't until nearly the end of the concert before Shizuka finally found Sadako slouched down in a seat in the center of the second to last row of the theater. The singer had spent the entire evening allowing her eyes to slowly move along each row, from right to left and then back again, starting with the seats closest to the stage and them moving back row-by-row until she finally found her.

The nurse's eyes were closed and a small smile played on her lips as her head nodded ever so slightly to the beat of the music.

As soon as the current aria came to its conclusion to the loud applause of the audience, Shizuka waved her hand at a surprised conductor and then stepped up to take the microphone from its stand and walk to the very edge of the stage's apron.

"Everyone," she said sweetly, "at this time I'd like to invite a very special guest to join us on stage. She's not a professional, but she's probably one of the best pianists I've ever heard."

At the back of the audience, Sadako's eyes flew open to be met with blazingly direct brown orbs focused solely on her own. There was absolutely no way that she didn't know just exactly who the diva was talking about, or to.

"To be honest, she's the reason…the _only_ reason that I quit school early in Italy and came back to Japan. I forgot that for a while, but I've finally remembered just how much and how dear she is to me." Her eyes never once left Sadako's. She could see the pain and confusion in the nurse's eyes and she allowed her own pain and guilt to suffuse her own. "I know she's going to be a bit reticent to play for us," she went on, dragging the entire audience into her cause, "but with your encouragement, it's my greatest hope that she'll grace us with her talent."

The audience couldn't have missed just exactly where Shizuka's eyes were directed and nearly three hundred pairs of eyes turned toward the rear of the theatre to focus on the middle seat in the next to last row. The applause and waving started off slowly, but quickly grew into a force that left Sadako no choice but to concede defeat. Shizuka smiled in relief as the Lillian nurse grudgingly nodded her acquiescence and stood to make her way to the end of the row, down the aisle, and to the steps at the side of the stage, clapping following her the entire way.

The two met on the left of the stage where the pianist smilingly surrendered his position at the keyboard.

"I don't even know," Sadako whispered, but Shizuka smiled at her.

"Yes you do, love. I know you've been listening."

"Love?" Sadako asked with one raised eyebrow.

The songstress blushed and dipped her head. "Yes…love." She whispered. "I may have stupidly forgotten for a while and got too caught up in all the hype, I know it's all my fault, but I'm hoping that Maria-sama will answer my prayers and give me one more chance to show you just how much I love you."

A slight gasp came from the audience and both women realized that Shizuka had still been holding the open mike.

Sadako smirked. "You can't back out now, Shizu-chan. I've got witnesses."

"I wouldn't anyway," the black haired diva smiled back. "I won't be so stupid again. Not if you give me a chance."

"We'll see," the nurse grinned, taking her seat on the piano bench. "Do they know?" she asked with a wave of her hand toward the rest of the orchestra.

"Just start, they'll come in when they're ready."

With a nod, Sadako adjusted herself on the bench while Shizuka took a position directly behind her, one hand on her shoulder.

With a quick flick of her fingers, Sadako began the opening strains to Gounod's _Ave Maria_.

First came the slow and distinct notes from the piano. Then the violins joined in followed by the French horns. The harpist played a counterpoint to the piano as the cellos provided the undercurrents. The tympani was almost non-existent, yet measured the beats as the rest of the instruments joined in the production of the sacred hymn. Yet it was all a background to the piano and the voice that were joined in perfect harmony.

The audience sat rapt as violins and flutes, horns and oboes, cellos and bassoons all danced to the melding of two voices, piano and soprano, that flew them the heights of the heavens and then gently brought them down, once again, to the humbleness of man; leaving them with tears in their eyes for the beauty that had been gifted to them by an all-loving Maria-sama and her two angels.

And each and every one, in both the audience and the orchestra on stage, stood to cheer and applaud the two women locked in an embrace and sharing a chaste kiss before them.

"You'd better be prepared," Sadako warned her as they finally separated but kept their arms around each other.

"For what, love?" Shizuka asked.

"I'll share you with them," Sadako smiled and nodded a head toward the audience, "but I'm not one to let go once I get what I want. I can be a very jealous mistress."

"Then take me home, Mistress," Shizuka smiled shyly. "I have some catching up to do," she explained as she once again captured the pink lips that she'd finally realized she'd missed for so very, very long.

"My pleasure," Sadako grinned and, without further ado, picked up her smiling lover and carried her off stage to the continuing applause.


End file.
